FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 Internet Attorney Explains New Online Privacy Protocols, Urges Consumers to Be Savvy Web Surfers

June 22, 2001 (Washington, D.C.) – Internet attorney Harvey S. Jacobs, Esq., today offered consumers some tips on protecting their privacy while online, while praising the new “Platform for Privacy Preferences” (P3P) recently adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a non-profit industry group.

 “These new protocols for Web site ‘cookies’ will go a long way toward allowing the surfing public to have more control over the information that these Web sites can collect and deliver to their owners,” said Jacobs. “When the P3P settings are installed on your Web browser, your browser can in effect ‘read’ that Web site’s privacy policy and report back to you what it says. Then P3P gives you the opportunity to accept or reject the cookie from that specific site.”

 Jacobs predicts that the P3P protocols will be effective in implementing Web site privacy ratings. “Very strict privacy policies – those that don’t allow any use or sharing of personally identifiable information may be awarded the top rating,” he said, “whereas another site with no stated privacy policy posted might earn that site the lowest possible rating.”

 There has been some industry speculation of a universal traffic light-type graphic that will give the user instant feedback on a site’s privacy rating. “The safest sites, those that respect your privacy the most, will trigger a green light,” said Jacobs, “while those sites with some privacy policy but that do allow sharing or use of private information will generate a yellow caution light, and those sites with no stated privacy policy will trigger a red warning light on your browser.”

 Current browsers have only three general settings regarding the acceptance or rejection of cookies and do not take into account the privacy policies of individual sites, Jacobs explained. Microsoft has announced that its latest Internet Explorer version 6.0 will have these new P3P protocols built in, and Netscape Navigator will likely adopt the protocols, as well.

 Jacobs has created a “Be a Savvy Web Surfer: A Consumer Online Privacy Guide,” which is available for free on his Web site at: www.Internet-Law-Firm.com

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