New 'Phone Book' Raising Serious Privacy Issues

PALO ALTO, CA—Alarmed by the “ever-shrinking security and rights of individuals in the information age,” the Palo Alto-based group Citizens For Privacy is calling for strict controls to be placed on “phone books”—printed directories of all the telephone numbers in a specified area. “With this new piece of technology,” CFP head Nadine Geary said, “anyone could know your phone number in literally seconds.” Exacerbating the situation, Geary said, is the fact that, in many cases, the subject’s address is also printed right next to the number. “If this device is allowed to be distributed,” Geary said, “literally anyone would be able to track you down at any time. It’s frightening.”