Contact: Jeannette Boccini
The
Krantz Group, Inc.
(212) 891-7234
jboccini@krantzgroup.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington -- March 1, 1999 -- EPIC, Junkbusters and Privacy International announced today that they have called on investment fund managers to divest their holdings in Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the company responsible for the controversial chip ID feature. The privacy organizations that launched the national boycott against the chipmaker more than a month ago said that the investment community has a social responsibility to pull out support for Intel.
Jason Catlett, President of Junkbusters Corp., said that all investors, small and large, should look at more than one ``bottom line'' with Intel. ``The social bottom line takes notice of Intel's Orwellian vision of the future where people's movements on the Internet are constantly tracked. The economic bottom line considers the lost growth for global electronic commerce because consumers fear for their privacy online.''
Despite widespread public concern, Intel has refused to remove the ID feature from its chip. It has merely changed its recommended software configuration. On Thursday major PC manufacturers announced that they had taken steps to try to disable the feature as strongly as possible in software, but doubts had already been raised by a report by the German PC magazine c't that the feature can still be turned on without the user's knowledge or consent. The chip and PCs containing the chip went on sale Friday after more than a month of adverse publicity. Intel's share price dropped sharply on several pieces of bad news including the filing of a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging "unfair and deceptive practices" over Intel's portrayal of the ID feature. The privacy groups want the ID feature permanently removed from the chip and said they will continue expanding the boycott campaign until Intel does so.
An open letter sent Sunday to six key socially responsible mutual funds suggested several possible actions for investors:
The six funds include the Domini Social Equity Fund (DSEFX), the billion-dollar Dreyfus Third Century Fund (DRTHX), and the Parnassus Fund (PARNX). Several have significant investments in Intel.
Socially responsible investors have strongly influenced corporate decision-making in favor of causes such as human rights. More than $1 trillion in assets are under management in socially and environmentally responsible portfolios, according to a 1997 report by the nonprofit Social Investment Forum.
Simon Davies, director general of London-based watchdog group Privacy International said, ``The potential of the ID number in the Pentium III to be used as a tracking mechanism is of particular concern in countries governed by regimes hostile to rights and freedoms. The export of the chips to such countries will not only compromise human rights and freedom of expression, but could endanger those involved in political reform and human rights advocacy.''
Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center said, ``Responsible investment firms need to consider the social impact of information technology that threatens the privacy of American citizens. The protection of privacy in the twenty-first century may be as great a challenge as the protection of the environment has been in the twentieth century. Investment firms have a responsibility to safeguard our future.''
Resources on the Web:
The letter and addressees: http://www.junkbusters.com/intel.html
Boycott campaign homepage: http://www.bigbrotherinside.com
Press release 2/26 on the FTC and PC manufacturers: http://www.junkbusters.com/nr16.html
Report from the Social Investment Forum: http://www.socialinvest.org/Areas/Research/trends/1997-Trends.htm
Electronic Privacy Information Center: http://www.epic.org
Privacy International: http://www.privacyinternational.org
This document is http://www.junkbusters.com/nr17.html