More federal snooping.
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Joseph Noonan jfn1 at msc.com
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[from: www.gnu.org]
Protect Postal Privacy
Background
The United States Postal Service has submitted a rule to Congress proposing that
all Commercial Mail Recieving Agencies (CMRAs) must, as of June 24, 1999, collect
significant personal information from all clients using their services. This
would certainly affect anonymous mail transactions, and could put millions of
CMRA customers in danger. Any CMRA or CMRA customer who refuses to comply with
this regulation would effectively lose their right to recieve mail.
The proposed regulation (published in the Federal Register on March 25, 1999)
requires that CMRAs collect names, home addresses, telephone numbers, and photo
ID information about each customer. If the CMRA customer classifies themselves as
a business, they must surrender the information on that box holder to anyone who
asks for it. CMRAs are widely used by survivors of domestic violence, undercover
law enforcement officials, and stalking victims in order to conceal their
locations and identities from people who could cause them harm.
The USPS proposal was intended to help cut down on mail fraud, a practice that
costs consumers millions of dollars every year. However, experts state that the
Postal Service's proposal will not serve as a deterrent to criminals. "It will be
a simple process for those with financial means to rent homes, apartments, office
space, or the executive suites available in most major metropolitan areas", says
Postal Watch's website.
Congressman Ron Paul has introduced House Joint Resolution 55, which would
effectively revoke the Postal Service's new regulations regarding CMRAs, but the
resolution needs your support in order to ensure that this insidious assault on
consumer privacy is defeated.
What you can do
1. Contact your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor HJR 55
2. Write or call members of the House Appropriations Committee and inform them
about this issue, and urge them to pass the resolution.
3. Send written comments about this issue to the US Postal Service before July
9, 1999 to:
Manager, Administration and FOIA United States Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 8141 Washington, DC 20260-5202
More information
For further information, see the following web pages:
* Postal Watch
* Privacy.org
* HJR 55
* House Appropriations Committee
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