Chilling Effects

CK - Washington.  While ZDNet gives publicity to a Brennan Center for Justice study on the chilling effects from less than clearly defined standards for fair use, German lawyers find their blood chilled today when reading alerts from colleagues whose bank accounts have been accessed with unexpected Paypal deposits and withdrawals. A small deposit to new users' bank accounts used to be, and perhaps still is, Paypal's method of account verification. Things get troubling if you are not new user and receive a Paypal verification deposit, to be followed by withdrawals. The European rule requiring website owners to reveal their identity as well as other very personal data or business information, known colloquially in German as Impressumspflicht, helps criminals to a lot of information that they would otherwise have to obtain through cumbersome and potentially risky means. An impressum, the About or FAQ page identifying the owner of a website, creates a fabulous shortcut for all kinds of criminals, from stalkers to finance whizzes. Add to that the European practice of revealing banking information on stationary, and you create phishers' heaven. German American Law Journal :: Washington USA