From: mgream@acacia.itd.uts.edu.au (Matthew Gream)
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 93 19:49:50 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com (Cypherpunks)
Subject: Re: Does this seem illegal to you?
In-Reply-To: <9309191523.AA08506@snark.lehman.com>
Message-ID: <9309200247.AA03875@acacia.itd.uts.EDU.AU>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


In reply to (Perry E. Metzger):

| If he has her phone number, and its listed, he can check any reverse
| phone directory, get her address, and do this anyway. He doesn't need
| spring telemap. If she's stupid enough not to get an unlisted number,
| then Sprint Telemap isn't going to do anything worse than what can be
| done already.

A company over here in Australia rekeyed the telephone directory offshore
and offered a reverse-directory on our 0055 system (analogous to your
900s), there was considerable uproar over the facility. Firstly the police
and community groups (including privacy groups) were of course angered
at the ability for criminals to reverse lookup targets. The 'teleco' also
made some vague allegations about the legitimacy of rekeying their phone-
books. 

Anyway, under considerable pressure, reverse directory lookups were removed
for all 'residential' numbers, although the director of the company was
adamant that he was under no legal obligation to do so, but took the action
due to 'public concern'. It should also be noted that from the outset the
company did provide the ability for people to dial up a secondary number
and have their entry removed.

Although, it must be said that CDROM whitepages are available, and i'm 
ignorant of what limitations have been built into them to stop people 
(i.e. corporations) turning them into reverse directories.

I thought it was interesting enough when the original poster talked about 
the TeleMap service, but to now find out that reverse directories are 
'common', ho hum.

Matthew.
-- 
Matthew Gream,, M.Gream@uts.edu.au -- Consent Technologies, 02-821-2043.