Court Says IP Addresses Aren't Personally Identifiable Information

from the ok... dept

We've noted that in Europe, IP addresses are considered private info, and I've pointed out that I don't think IP addresses, by themselves, should be considered private. I agree that combined with other identifying information an IP address can reveal info about you, but just the numbers alone are not private. And it appears a judge agrees, noting that IP addresses are not "personally identifiable" information (sent in by Dave Barnes). I'm actually surprised about this, because most people seem to disagree with me on IP addresses. However, this does raise a separate question: if courts say IP addresses are not personally identifiable, then does that shoot a large hole in most of the RIAA cases which rely on IP addresses? After all, the judge in this ruling said:

"In order for 'personally identifiable information' to be personally identifiable, it must identify a person. But an IP address identifies a computer."

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What Happens To All That Personal Data Clear Holds? It's Unclear

from the that's-a-problem dept

I have to admit, there was one part of the "Clear" airport "fast pass" program created by Stephen Brill that I never fully understood. In order to join Clear, you had to submit all sorts of personal info -- which raised a lot of questions when the company behind Clear, Verified Identity Pass, lost a laptop with all that data last year. But what's never been clear to me is why this data was needed. If you had a Clear card, it wasn't like you went through any less of a security check. You just got to cut the line. That's it. You still ended up needing to go through the same security check. So why did Verified Identity Pass -- or the Department of Homeland Security who VIP passed the data on to -- need your personal info in the first place?

Either way, that's now raising a lot more questions because no one seems entirely sure what happens to all that data now that the company has gone out of business. While the company insists that airport kiosks and employee computers are being wiped clean, there are still plenty of questions about just who still has access to the data, and what happens to it if someone else buy's up VIP's assets or if the company declares bankruptcy and creditors get access to their assets.

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German Court Rules That IP Addresses Are Not Personal Info

from the it's-just-business dept

There's been an ongoing discussion in Europe as to whether or not IP addresses should be considered personal info. The implications have a lot to do with how companies deal with your IP address. If it is considered private info, then they are quite limited in what they can do with it. If it's not, then it opens up ISPs to being required to store your IP addresses in log files that they may be required to keep. As we noted when this debate first heated up, the entire argument is a little misleading, as it sets up a false scenario. Lots of your info is private in some scenarios and public in others. You give out your name freely in some cases, but in others might not want it known. Your IP address is, by default, "public" in that you have to display it to computers you connect to in order to do anything online.

A German court has now ruled that IP addresses should not be considered personal info, and thus can be stored without problem by ISPs. In this case, an individual had sued, claiming that sites that kept log files were violating his privacy, but that would be like saying a store that videotaped you entering their premises violated your privacy. Putting yourself out in public means you're out in public, even if it's online. In this case, it sounds like the court got it right.

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