Privacy, Broadband, & the Database

=> I'm writing for your opinions, suggestions, and comments regarding updating
=> the RIPE database with assignments made for broadband (xDSL) customers. As
=> you may or may not be aware, ADSL is now being offered in the UK, which 
=> has very strict data protection laws. We offer ADSL services as a NATted
=
=IP addresses and data related to them is international resource.
=I don't think you should apply any law in UK when we talk about
=RIPE(.int) resources.

  But that doesn't mean the people *collecting* customer related info *and
  transferring that data to somewhere abroad* would be exempt from local
  laws. Quite the opposite holds true for many (most?) countries...

=I assume we are still supposed to maintain single nic-hdl per person.
=What's the plan now, if my LIR would need to refer to the same contact
=person? It doesn't make sense to direct any calls to your LIR, if the
=problem lies at customer network at our LIR's addresses.

  It depends on the level of "responsibility" and functionality granted to
  and exercised by that end site. As I've said in a private mail already,
  we should ask the question about the usefulness of "assigning" (in the
  good old sense) very small amounts of addresses to sites which are tied
  in to the services of their provider anyway. I guess most of the ADSL,
  dial-up, cable-TV connection assignments sh/could be reviewed from that
  point of view.

=> phone:       +44-845-272-0444
=> remarks:     Phone is Demon Internet Helpdesk
= 
=The same rule should apply to all assignments. If a (home) network
=contact person doesn't want to be 'listed', s/he can try to live
=without real network and buy NAT from a provider.

  That's a very valid point.

=If people think RIPE db contains too much sensitive information,
=I would rather see the query results restricted somehow. For example
=operators (LIRs) could have full query access, and the others
=could merely receive pointers to the LIR for further information.

  This idea happens to pop always now and then, again and again. the last
  time I heard a proposal along those lines was at the Brisbane APNIC
  meeting.

  I then asked the following question:
  	"So you are going to collect information, but you are going to
	hide it.  Fair enough.  Have you thought about criteria and/or
	mechanisms to disclose that information, either to entites with 
	a "valid" interest and/or to law enforcement?"
  
  I did not receive a useful answer.

  Just as a virtual poll - would anyone in the RIPE region care to propose
  criteria and/or mechanism?
  
  Wilfried.
 _________________________________:_____________________________________
  Wilfried Woeber                 : e-mail: Woeber at CC.UniVie.ac.at
  UniVie Computer Center - ACOnet : Tel: +43 1 4277 - 140 33
  Universitaetsstrasse 7          : Fax: +43 1 4277 - 9 140
  A-1010 Vienna, Austria, Europe  : RIPE-DB: WW144, PGP keyID 0xF0ACB369
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