Hrm.

[liadethornegge]

So, tried to create a zoomin page, just because so many of Nordmark's citizens are using it. Being a primarily Swedish service I can see the attraction. It seems to incorporate some nifty features; photo galleries, blog facilities, webpage creation etc, so I thought I'd sign up and use it for commenting on other scadian blogs there. Only, when I go to sign up the site asks me for my social security number. All twelve digits.

I will put up with a lot on the 'net, and I'm not averse to shopping with a credit card online. But what the hell can an ad-sponsored website host want with those digits? They say they will not use my information on the site, nor spread it about. In fact they won't use it at all, they just want it.

poo-poo to that. Zoomin will not get any of the kind out of me. Livejournal continues to be a spiffy site, and I have my picture galleries sorted elsewhere. The LJ gallery baffles me, so this is a good thing. Thankfully I can still view most content that the fine Swedish artisans post over there on zoomin, so it's not strictly needful to sign up.


In other news: tomorrow I've got a dentist's appointment. *sigh*

Comments

I think you should complain officially

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

If it's anything like a social insurance number in other countries, its use is sharply limited to government agencies. There's no defensible reason for a private company to request it.

I'd write to whatever agency manages the use of the SSN, and to whatever agency manages data protection and privacy in Sweden.

OTOH, given what I've heard of the interconnectedness of Swedish agencies (esp social security, and tax agencies) it might be harder to get a complaint to stick in Sweden than in the UK or Canada!