I’m An American. Who Do I Sue?
29 May 2008 | Filed Under: Activism + Crankypants + Interpipes + Politics
A couple of weeks ago I took the early morning train up to Dublin to renew my accidentally expired passport. The US Embassy in Dublin is open for approximately 3 hours each morning, 4 days a week, so this meant getting on the very first train from Cork and I still barely made it before they closed for what is presumably a 21 hour lunch.
Entering the compound one might politely describe as The Ugliest Building in Dublin was a very bizarre experience. In the US, I’m used to armed police on the streets, metal detectors in schools and heavy security at shopping malls. In Ireland, none of that happens. So it is extremely disconcerting to find ones self in Ballsbridge, entering an already freaky compound through something that very closely approximates airport security complete with uniformed guards, a metal detector, an x-ray belt for my handbag, and the requirement to leave both my phone and my nail scissors at the checkpoint. I spent more than a moment wondering if I was being shielded from a potential hostage situation or actually be taken hostage.
Neither event came to pass and everyone was exceedingly nice, from the guards to the cashier to the lovely French woman who helped me complete my application. My new passport was required for our mortgage paperwork, so I was anxious to get it back as soon as possible and minimise any delays. When the form asked for my email address, I provided it willingly so that the consulate could have one more way of contacting me if there were any issues.
There was no opt in/opt out checkbox and no disclaimer or fine print of any kind, so I naturally assumed my email address would be used only for purposes pertaining to the application on which I provided it.
Today, three days after the prompt delivery of my shiny new passport, I received an email from wardendublin@state.gov - something long and rambling to do with absentee ballots and Minnesota. Here it is in all its spammy glory:
First of all, I have no idea what they’re on about, nor do I care. I have never lived in Minnesota and doubt I could locate it on a map if challenged to do so. I have certainly never voted in Minnesota, and voting information specific to Minnesota is irrelevant to me - as it is to every other US expat in Ireland who is from any of the 49 states not named Minnesota.
Second of all, and far more irritating, is the following:
- I have no idea what this list is. It is not identified in any way in the footer. The sender, likewise, is unidentified.
- I did not ask to be on this list, and at no point was I told that my information would be used for what amounts to federal spam.
- Most importantly, there is no mechanism provided for me to opt out of this list now that I’m on it.
I am, to say the least, irate. I have an immediate need to drop someone’s trousers and hand out a suitably painful, lesson-instilling spanking. I am absolutely positive that this practice must break a US or EU spam law, and I am old and crotchety and spoiling for a law suit.
I don’t want to write a letter to some dusty office in Dublin, Brussels or Minnesota; I want to haul someone into court and beat them up for their pocket change, because I am exactly that pissed off.
So tell me, dear interpipes, who do I sue? Seriously.
Stewart Curry says:
I would leave a comment criticising the US government, but I’m afraid that several years from now I could be standing in a little room in Dublin Airport looking at a printout of it and explaining to an officer why I should be allowed on a plane to the states…
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 6:51 pmTwenty Major says:
Step 1 - get irate on your blog, as is your right.
Step 2 - set up a rule in your email program which deletes emails from wardendublin@state.gov before they even hit your inbox
Step 3 - get on with life without stressing yourself out over something that’s really easy to deal with.
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 6:52 pmSabrina Dent says:
@20: But what would I do with my moral outrage and self-righteous indignation?
I may be naive, but I hold government organisations to the highest standard on privacy and data management, regardless of their country of origin. if you wrote the HSE and found yourself on a completely irrelevant HSE mailing list without your consent, and without a provided opt out link, would you not feel your data was being abused? I certainly do.
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 7:05 pmKit Meredith says:
It’s probably not as cathartic as suing, but you could contact the embassy’s Voting Officer to protest their policy and ask that your name be removed. (From http://dublin.usembassy.gov/service/voting.html: “The voting officer at American Embassy can provide citizens with information on the voting process and help in complying with state’s laws.”)
I’d call the general Embassy number and ask to speak with the voting officer in the American Citizen Services unit. You said the people at the embassy were exceedingly nice; why not give them a chance to correct this? Maybe they’ll stop adding people to the list involuntarily, or at least add an opt-out clause to their emails, and you will have benefitted expats across Ireland.
Good luck!
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 7:51 pmRichard says:
Ahh the old FPCA scam. Next thing you know you’ll have voted a clown into the White House.
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 7:51 pmMichele says:
What exactly is their stance on spam?
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 8:34 pmWhich jurisdiction would cover them?
I presume you’d have to take it up with the US state dept, or whichever one covers embassies etc.,
Twenty Major says:
if you wrote the HSE and found yourself on a completely irrelevant HSE mailing list without your consent, and without a provided opt out link, would you not feel your data was being abused? I certainly do.
If I wrote to the HSE and got any kind of answer I’d consider myself very lucky indeed.
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 8:43 pmnouns says:
I’m with you on the data management issue, and I also have the ‘naive’ view that government agencies should at least try and illustrate that they’re not the equivalent of McSpamalot.com.
I’d also totally disagree with twenty - the more we cede the data (already gone), the access to the data (going) and the manipulation of the data (happening, scary), the more acceptable it becomes.
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 8:44 pmTwenty Major says:
I’m not suggesting that spam should be tolerated, merely saying that for making ones life easier it might be better to deal with it locally than deal with the beaurocracy associated with any government, least of all the USA.
Thursday, 29 May, 2008, 9:50 pmSabrina Dent says:
@Kit that is a spectacular idea. Your comment got held up in spam filtering, but that’s a winner. I will write an actual letter to an actual person and whine my bitchy head off and see if I can’t get a responsive reply.
Friday, 30 May, 2008, 12:05 amDeborah says:
Governmental immunity applies in the US unless harmful negligence can be shown. Don’t think it would work in this case, however annoyed and inconvenienced you might be. However, if you can take care of it on Irish soil, you might have a case, but given that the embassy (and anything sent from it) is considered American soil, you might be SOOL.
On an aside, we had to go there to get Ciara’s citizenship when shewas a month old. It was the most awful experience. They had all the parents come at the same damn time (a tip I can only assume they picked up from Irish hospitals) but only had two staff to wait on them. Babies screaming, no AC, 4-5 hour wait with only travel brochures to read was not good at all. One poor woman was trying to breastfeed and they kept calling her up needlessly, wouldn’t even talk to her husband who was apprently not the citizen, even though they only wanted to hand her a form. Unbelievable!
I guess I was expecting some sort of James Bond scenario where US citizens are rushed in and treated like royalty with hot marines walking around with even hotter guns! ;-) Heh! But ya know what, compared to the INS in downtown Chicago, where you become but a cow in a herd of cattle, and are prodded and shouted at accordingly, it was a cake walk.
Good luck with your inquiries!
Friday, 30 May, 2008, 10:40 amChris says:
It’s really interesting to see you are looking for the “opt out” option. That’s a European model under our data protection regime. Data Protection laws require all data subjects to be able to “opt out” of any subsequent data-processing / contacting etc.
The same requirement does not exist under US law - as far as I’m aware. (Although some places may provide it nonetheless).
I think it’s interesting that people complain so much about data protection laws in Europe, and yet here you have experienced an exchange where they were not in place and you seemed to show preference for the European system.
As for what you can do about it, I really have no idea other than write to them expressing your concerns and see what comes of it.
C.
Friday, 30 May, 2008, 11:16 amBen says:
Whats with this ’sue’ culture!
Set up a rule in your email so you never see their mail as Twenty says and have a long walk and a cup of hot chocolate and fuget about it - as they say in the states.
Your getting a mortgage for petes sakes, you have enough on your plate already! ;)
Friday, 30 May, 2008, 3:41 pmMaryrose Lyons says:
Run for President in 2012 on a ticket of No Spam, No War, and a couple of other things
Saturday, 31 May, 2008, 9:50 pmCronoCloud Creeggan says:
Oh! Warden is the system the US uses to quickly alert overseas citizens to situations they might need to know fast.
http://wikileaks.cx/wiki/Warden_system_(military)
So if all of a sudden, wild zontars from outer space decided to come down and eat Americans in Dublin, a message would go out on Warden. You should probably encourage the embassy in Eire to not use Warden for stuff like that.
Sunday, 1 June, 2008, 3:39 pmMarkg says:
A quick Google and resultant Wiki tells me that GW signed a bill into law back in 2003, called CAN SPAM.
Unfortunately for you, any message containing political, religious or details of national security are not exempt.
As you filled in a document that is property of the United States of America, on soil that is technically the United States of America, the laws of that land apply.
Opt-out does exist in American law, under this bill, but again, is not required if the email can be categorised under the headings I mentioned in the 2nd sentence.
I think you may have to get Jimmy Stewart on them if you want modifications to the law.
Tuesday, 3 June, 2008, 4:12 pm[ Irish KC ] » Kansas City Irish Festivals, Music, Pubs, & Events by an Artist in Ireland » Around and About says:
[…] Grandad got his cartoon from me only days after suggesting his name. • Sabrina Dent has a story about the behaviour of the US Embassy in Dublin. • Damien Mulley met […]
Tuesday, 10 June, 2008, 9:39 pmferal sparrowhawk says:
I can completely see where you are coming from on this, but there is another way of looking at it.
Seven million Americans live overseas. Less than half a million of them voted in 2004 (I think I’ve got that right). Many of those who didn’t vote wanted to but found it too difficult to navigate the nightmare rules many states have on overseas voting. Those that did, other than those who were serving in the military voted Kerry around 70/30.
So take out Minnesota, put in Ohio and …
All that said they absolutely should have an opt out clause. But if they did, I’m not sure everyone should use it.
Friday, 20 June, 2008, 12:07 pm