RFC 1295 INFORMATIONAL DIRECTORY · PRIVACY

User Bill of Rights for entries and listings in the Public Directory

Rights for people listed in public directories

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PUBLISHED
January 1992
AUTHORS
The North American Directory Forum
STREAM
Legacy
OBSOLETED BY
RFC 1417 — NADF
DOI
10.17487/RFC1295

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Network Working Group                 The North American Directory Forum
Request for Comments: 1295                                  January 1992


                          User Bill of Rights
                        for entries and listings
                        in the Public Directory

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard.  Distribution of this memo is
   unlimited.

Abstract

   This RFC is a near-verbatim copy of a document, known as NADF-265,
   which has been produced by the North American Directory Forum (NADF).

                            User Bill of Rights
                         for entries and listings
                          in the Public Directory

   The mission of the North American Directory Forum is to provide
   interconnected electronic directories which empower users with
   unprecedented access to public information.  To address significant
   security and privacy issues, the North American Directory Forum
   introduces the following "User Bill of Rights" for entries in the
   Public Directory.  As a user, you have:

        I. The right not to be listed.

       II. The right to have you or your agent informed when
           your entry is created.

      III. The right to examine your entry.

       IV. The right to correct inaccurate information in your
           entry.

        V. The right to remove specific information from your
           entry.

       VI. The right to be assured that your listing in the
           Public Directory will comply with US or Canadian law
           regulating privacy or access information.

      VII. The right to expect timely fulfillment of these rights.

Scope of Intent - User Bill of Rights

   The North American Directory Forum is a collection of service
   providers that plan to offer a cooperative directory service in North
   America.  This is achieved by interconnecting electronic directories
   using a set of internationally developed standards known as the CCITT
   X.500 series.

   In this context, the "Directory" represents the collection of
   electronic directories administered by both service providers and
   private operators.  When an entry containing information about a user
   is listed in the Directory, that information can be accessed unless
   restricted by security and privacy controls.

   A portion of the Directory -- The Public Directory -- contains
   information for public dissemination.  In contrast, other portions of
   the Directory may contain information not intended for public access.
   A user or user's agent may elect to list information in the Public
   Directory, a private directory, or some combination.  For example, a
   user might publicly list a telephone number or an electronic mail
   address, and might designate other information for specific private
   use.

   The User Bill of Rights pertains to the Public Directory.

Security Considerations

   Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

Author's Address

   North American Directory Forum
   c/o Theodore H. Myer
   Rapport Communication
   3055 Q Street NW
   Washington, DC  20007

   Phone: +1 202-342-2727

   EMail: 0004454742@mcimail.com

AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMPublic directories held information about people with no safeguards for accuracy or privacy.
MECHANISMThe North American Directory Forum sets out seven user rights: not to be listed, to be informed when listed, to see your entry, to correct errors, to remove information, to have your privacy protected by law, and to have these rights fulfilled promptly.
STATUSReplaced by RFC 1417, this early standard formalized privacy expectations in networked directories.

§1Introduction and Purpose

The North American Directory Forum created this Bill of Rights as a privacy and security policy for electronic directories built on international standards. The document applies to entries in public directories, not private ones. Users could choose to list information publicly, privately, or in both places.

Before you put your name in an electronic directory, here are the rights you should have.

§2The Seven User Rights

The seven rights are: (1) not to be listed at all, (2) to be told when your entry is created, (3) to read your own entry, (4) to fix information that is wrong, (5) to delete specific information you do not want shown, (6) to have your entry comply with privacy laws, and (7) to have all these things happen quickly.

You can say no to being listed, see what is written about you, fix mistakes, hide things you want private, and expect this to happen fast.

§3Scope and Context

The rights apply to public directory entries in X.500 directories connected by the North American Directory Forum. Other parts of the directory could be restricted, and users could opt to list information in private parts instead of public ones, or both. Security and privacy controls were expected to enforce these rights.

These rules apply to the part of the directory that anyone can see, not the private parts.

§4References