phone lookups

[John R T Brazier]

>>>>>>John R T Brazier wrote:
>>>>>>Um, whilst proving your point, did you check if these people were
happy
>>>>>>to have their details spread to this list? Also, what are the 0208...
>>>>>>numbers?

>>>>>Ben Wrote:
>>>>>Since these details are available on a disk anyone can buy, why check?

>>>>John wrote:
>>>>But I haven't bought the disk - so should I have these data? And isn't
>>>>this the essence of the privacy debate? Just because the disk exists,
does it
>>>>mean that we now shouldn't care about how our details are spread around?

>>>Ben wrote:
>>>I didn't say you shouldn't care - but its the disk you should care
>>>about, not the fact that someone quoted its contents.

>>John Wrote:
>> As a point of practice, you are correct. As a point of principle, I can't
>> buy it. The existence and availability of a data set shouldn't give free
>> license to any use or abuse of it. Otherwise, by this argument, Blunkett
was
>> right: ISPs have traffic data, which is available to the Government, so
it
>> shouldn't matter if the Government "spreads it around a bit".

>Ben Wrote:
>There's a fundamental difference - the traffic data is not freely
>available to all comers.

John replied:
I don't see the basic difference: traffic data is freely available to some
Governmental
agencies. By your argument it shouldn't matter if it's available to a few
more.

TTFN

John B