December 8, 1999 Web posted at: 1:44 p.m. EST (1844 GMT) by Douglas F. Gray

From...

(IDG) -- Dutch ISP XS4ALL Internet has scored a legal victory for privacy after an Amsterdam court allowed it to publicize the privacy policies of several free ISPs in the Netherlands, as well as that of Microsoft's free e-mail service Hotmail.

The court also ruled that another ISP, Wanadoo, should immediately cease advertising claiming that customers' details are not used by third parties, since the ISP is unable to support that claim, according to a statement posted on XS4ALL's Web site.

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XS4ALL's advertising campaign involves publishing sections of privacy agreements of its competitors, in which the other ISPs state that they can sell information about customers to third parties.

XS4ALL was sued by two ISPs as a result of the ad campaign. The court dismissed all claims by the ISPs, Wanadoo and NokNok, and ordered the two parties to pay the costs of the case, according to a release issued by the company.

In 1998, all shares of XS4ALL were sold to Koninklijke KPN under the provision that the ISP maintain its independence for an additional three years.