IDG (The Standard) - FTC Hosts Privacy Tug-of-War. Industry representatives say new laws would drive up costs, while advocacy groups say less-deceptive data-handling practices are needed.

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"We need much better notice [of data practices]," said Mary Culnan, a professor at Bentley College. "Really, there's a need to bring consumers in the loop."

Evan Hendricks, editor of the biweekly newsletter Privacy Times, called on the FTC to investigate the widespread use of mail-in warranty cards as an unfair and deceptive trade practice. Hendricks said the cards, which are included with many retail products, are one of the primary sources of unlisted telephone numbers for marketers and "a real problem that deserves official attention."

WashTech.com part of the Washington Post - Senate Includes Data Privacy Clause In Bankruptcy Bill.

LA Times - Exec's Electronic Messages Surface on Net, Raising Privacy Concerns. Thousands of ICQ notes to or from EFront CEO are posted. Experts say instant messaging is not designed for secure use.

RETAILTECH Online: Panel Discusses Need for Internet Privacy Laws.

NEW YORK: As consumer suspicion and impatience grow about how Internet businesses collect and use their personal information, some sort of government regulation is becoming increasingly likely, according to a panel of experts who gathered Thursday night for a New York New Media Association (NYNMA)-sponsored discussion of the situation.

"This is a new cloud on the horizon, and it's growing," said New York Times columnist William Safire, predicting that the issue is poised to be the next political hot button. "I'm optimistic that politicians will see a good issue in privacy. There's a certain resentment consumers have to being snooped on and pushed around."

The Nando Times: WebMD, Quintiles to settle dispute over customer data.

Quintiles Transnational and WebMD plan to resolve their dispute over electronic health data.

WebMD, citing patient privacy concerns, in February reduced the amount and type of data it sent to Quintiles, which repackages the data from medical and pharmacy claims for sale to drug companies.

Durham-based Quintiles insisted that WebMD, based in Elmwood Park, N.J., is obligated to send the data under a deal made last year.

The Register (UK) - Verio gags EFF founder over spam.

Aggressive anti-spam measures by Dallas-based ISP Verio have stripped some of the Internet's digerati of the ability to send e-mail, and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) co-founder John Gilmore is calling it censorship.

Gilmore's home network includes what anti-spam crusaders call an "open relay" -- a mail server that accepts and forwards e-mail from anyone. For decades, the practice was considered central to good network citizenship. But in recent years, spammers have begun hijacking open relays to multiply, sometimes a thousand fold, the number of junk messages they can send at once.