FROM THE ARCHIVE

Be careful where you click

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OCTOBER 23, 2000

Surfers who visit the Internet sites of various federal government agencies are being tracked without their knowledge, according to the General Accounting Office (GA0).

Additionally, the overwhelming majority of the sites surveyed by the GAO don't fully implement the governments own policies regarding privacy. Of the 65 web sites surveyed, only three percent implemented the Federal Trade Communication's four basic privacy policies, known as Notice, Choice, Access, and Security.

With the rapid spread of e-commerce, privacy issues have become an increasing concern in the online world. The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection, recently held a hearing to address Internet privacy.

"On just two issues in recent weeks the government has flunked," said Representative W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-Lousiana). Tauzin referred to a recent White House directive and the report of a violation of the Childrens' Online Privacy Protection Act by the White House website.

In June 1999, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum requiring all agency sites to post their privacy policies. The overwhelming majority of federal sites have complied with this directive, however, a second one regarding cookies has not been fully satisfied, said the GAO.

Cookies are used by websites to keep track of users who visit. They can be used to identify repeat visitors and to track what pages a web surfer clicks.

In June, the White House prohibited the use of cookies without direct approval and only under limited conditions. But the GAO found 13 sites using cookies without users' knowledge. The sites are: the Customs Service, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Bureau of Land Management, the Central Federal Lands Highway Division, the Energy Department's Ames Laboratory, the National Park Service, the Office of Personnel Management, the Trade and Development Agency, and the Health Care Financing Administration.

One site, the Forest Service's International Programs, transmitted cookies collected from visitors to private company who compiled reports on usage.

Get the GAO Report:
Internet Privacy: Comparison of Federal Agency Practices with FTC's Fair Information Principles (GAO-01-113T October 2000)

Read the Testimony:
Recent Developments in Privacy Protections for Consumers (Oversight Hearing of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications Trade & Consumer Protection October 2000)

Relevant Links:
The House Committee on Commerce - www.house.gov/commerce/