It looks like GeoCities got caught giving users confidential info out after
telling them they would not do this. Why am I not surprised...
FTC Finds GeoCities Violations
By Ted Bridis
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, August 13, 1998; 12:28 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators today accused an Internet company of
lying to its customers about maintaining their privacy. The company,
GeoCities, gives people free space to build Web sites if they answer
questions seeking personal information.
In the first case involving Internet privacy rights before the Federal
Trade Commission, the government said GeoCities released personal details
about its customers to advertisers, in violation of its own promises.
The FTC said the company had said that without permission, it wouldn't
release information about a person's education, income, marital status,
occupation and personal interests.
``GeoCities misled its customers, both children and adults, by not telling
the truth about how it was using their personal information,'' said Jodie
Bernstein, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC.
The company's collection of Web pages ranks it among the top 10 most
frequently visited places on the Internet.
As part of a settlement announced today with the FTC, GeoCities agreed to
rewrite its privacy statement on its own Web site, explaining what
information it collects and how it distributes it.
more at
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19980813/V000599-081398-idx.html
AP
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