PRIVACY
Privacy's Guarded Prognosis (NYT)
WebMD Dispute With Quintiles Over Data Goes to a U.S. Court (WP)
Privacy in the Commercial World (House)
INTERNET
In Napster Case, Industry Hears Its Future (WP)
VeriSign to Cut Back Web Domain Control (WP)
TELEVISION/FILMS
Stan Margulies Dies; Produced TV Miniseries 'Roots,' 'Thorn Birds'
(LAT)
Negotiations Between Writers and Hollywood Studios Falter (NYT)
TELEPHONY
Consumer Groups Urge FCC To Deny Verizon Long-Distance Application
In Massachusetts (CU)
PRIVACY
PRIVACY'S GUARDED PROGNOSIS
Issue: Privacy
Now, as medical records like prescription information and laboratory test
results are increasingly kept on computer networks, the question of
individual privacy looms large. The federal government is moving to deal
with the concern that medical information could be used to deny insurance
coverage, or even employment, to someone. Until now, there has been no
comprehensive federal regulations governing patient privacy, only state
laws. New federal rules, developed by the Clinton administration and
scheduled to go into effect on April 14, will give patients the right to get
copies of their medical records, request corrections and also require health
care providers to get written consent from patients for sharing information
in their medical records. Yesterday, Tommy G. Thompson, the new secretary of
health and human services, reopened the issue for public comment as a result
of arguments from that health care industry that compliance would require
costly administrative changes.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Katie Hafner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/01/technology/01MEDI.html)
(requires registration)
WEBMD DISPUTE WITH QUINTILES OVER DATA GOES TO A U.S. COURT
Issue: Privacy
WebMD (www.webmd.com), citing patient-privacy concerns, has asked a federal
court to back its decision to stop providing health-claims data to Quintiles
Transnational, which repackages the information for sale to drug companies
and other clients. WebMD stopped sending data to Quintiles on Saturday. On
Sunday, Quintiles obtained a temporary restraining order that forced WebMD
to resume the flow of information. The dispute centers around agreement by
WebMD to provide certain data to Quintiles as part of WebMD's acquisition of
Quintiles' Envoy Corp. unit. Envoy, a clearinghouse, processes millions of
medical, pharmacy and other claims over a private electronic network. The
data is used by Quintile's partners to assess the popularity of various
drugs and the conditions for which the drugs are prescribed. Envoy claims
that the data is stripped of details that could link it to a specific
patient. WebMD disagrees. In some cases, WebMD claims, the data can be
combined with other databases to identify a specific persons. The data
includes dates of birth, sex and nine-digit ZIP Codes.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Ann Carrns]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB983488840511523149.htm)
(Subscription Required)
PRIVACY IN THE COMMERCIAL WORLD
Issue:
On March 1, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and
Commerce held its first hearing on privacy in the 107th Congress. Archived
audio broadcast of "Privacy in the Commercial World" is available.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/hearings/0301200143/03012001.htm)
See Also:
TESTIMONY AND STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD OF MARC ROTENBERG, EPIC EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
WEBMD DISPUTE WITH QUINTILES OVER DATA GOES TO A U.S. COURT
Issue: Privacy
WebMD (www.webmd.com), citing patient-privacy concerns, has asked a federal
court to back its decision to stop providing health-claims data to Quintiles
Transnational, which repackages the information for sale to drug companies
and other clients. WebMD stopped sending data to Quintiles on Saturday. On
Sunday, Quintiles obtained a temporary restraining order that forced WebMD
to resume the flow of information. The dispute centers around agreement by
WebMD to provide certain data to Quintiles as part of WebMD's acquisition of
Quintiles' Envoy Corp. unit. Envoy, a clearinghouse, processes millions of
medical, pharmacy and other claims over a private electronic network. The
data is used by Quintile's partners to assess the popularity of various
drugs and the conditions for which the drugs are prescribed. Envoy claims
that the data is stripped of details that could link it to a specific
patient. WebMD disagrees. In some cases, WebMD claims, the data can be
combined with other databases to identify a specific persons. The data
includes dates of birth, sex and nine-digit ZIP Codes.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Ann Carrns]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB983488840511523149.htm)
(Subscription Required)
INTERNET
IN NAPSTER CASE, INDUSTRY HEARS ITS FUTURE
Issue: Copyright
While the music industry and Napster battle over issues of copyright
infringement of the online service, other industry interests worry that
Napster's demise could further depress an already weak market for computer
gear -- or even stifles the growth of the Web itself. Napster's popularity
helped generate interest in a wide range of new computer products in recent
months. Everything from Computer CD burners to the newly minted appliance,
portable MP3 players, have benefited from Napster's availability. The
Consumer Electronics Association is so concerned about an adverse ruling for
Napster that its has filed legal papers supporting the Web service. Some are
even attributing the a growth in DSL Internet service to Napster, in part
because broadband access makes it possible to fetch song files far faster
than with dial-up modems. "We believe that if you take Napster out of the
mix, you basically stunt the growth of DSL and cable modems," said Ford
Cavallari, e-commerce analyst for Adventis, an Internet research firm.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10875-2001Mar1.html)
VERISIGN TO CUT BACK WEB DOMAIN CONTROL
Issue: Internet
VeriSign has struck a deal that will allow the company to continue selling
.com, .net and .org Web addresses but limits its role as in maintaining the
world's master database of Internet domains. The Clinton administration in
1999 pushed the company to choose between selling Web names to individuals
and businesses or managing the central database of these addresses. The
company, working under a May 10, 2001 deadline, decided to give up
management of the .org database by December 2002 and to continue maintaining
the .com database until 2007 and the .net database until 2006. "We believe
on balance this is a good deal for the Internet," said Michael Roberts,
ICANN's chief executive. The proposal must be approved by ICANN, the
VeriSign boards and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E06), AUTHOR: Dina ElBoghdady]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11766-2001Mar1.html)
TELEVISION/FILMS
STAN MARUGLIES DIES; PRODUCED TV MINISERIES 'ROOTS'
Issue: Television
Producer Stan Margulies died at the age of 80 of lung cancer Feb. 27.
Margulies's career as a producer included the historic miniseries "Roots"
and "The Thorn Birds." Margulies sought out projects that dealt with serious
issues of social conscience, producing such films as "Separate But Equal"
about the Brown vs. Board of Education case that cleared the way for school
desegregation, "Roots", and "I Will Fight No More Forever," a 1975
made-for-TV movie chronicling the U.S. Army's war with, and broken promises
to, the Nez Perce Indian Nation. Margulies also produced the favorite, Willy
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHORS: Lowry and King]
(http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20010301/t000018311.html)
NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN WRITERS AND HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS FALTER
Issue: Jobs
Negotiations broke down Thursday between the Writers Guild of America and
representatives of the major studios and television networks, inching the
industry closer to the prospect of a long-dreaded strike that could
effectively shut down Hollywood. John Wells, the guild's president, said the
main issue hobbling the talks was money - specifically, the amount of money
writers will be paid in residuals for subsequent use of their work beyond an
initial theatrical run or television broadcast. For almost a year, Hollywood
has been fearing that a dual strike this summer by the 11,000 writers, whose
contract expires at midnight May 1, and the 135,000 members of the Screen
Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists,
whose contract expires at midnight June 30, would shut down production on
virtually all movies and television programs.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Rick Lyman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/02/business/02STUD.html)
(requires registration)
TELEPHONY
CONSUMER GROUPS URGE FCC TO DENY VERIZON LONG-DISTANCE APPLICATION IN
MASSACHUSETTS
Issue: Telephony
The Consumer Federation of America and the Massachusetts Consumer Coalition
urged the Federal Communication Commission should reject Verizon's bid for
a long distance license because local Massachusetts markets are not yet open
to real competition.
[SOURCE: Consumer Federation of America]
(http://www.consumerfed.org/releases.html)
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