What’s new in privacy news this week? Here comes the roundup…

Wisconsin’s No Call List: Unlike the National Do Not Call list, where you need to submit your number just once to get onto the list of numbers that telemarketers can’t call, state no-call lists aren’t necessarily in effect forever. Such is the case with Wisconsin, where the list expires every two years. According to WEAU News 13, thousands of people have dropped off the state’s list since January. Those who sign up for the free service before June can make it onto the July 1 list, so if you live in Wisconsin, call 866-9-NO-CALL or click here to get your number back on the no-call directory. Fox 11 News reports that the list is updated quarterly, so if you don’t sign up by this Sunday, it’ll be a few more months before you can make sure you’re on the list.

DMV’s Do Not Smile Policy: According to USA Today, four states have now adopted policies prohibiting smiling in your driver’s license photo. Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia are combating identity theft and driver’s license fraud by putting this policy into place, and others might follow suit. Why the lack of mirth in the photos? The states have new, high-tech software in place that compares new license photos to old ones in an effort to stop people from assuming others’ identities. But the software doesn’t work as well if the faces in the photos have anything but a “neutral” expression… after all, we look different when we smile. Other states claim that their software works just fine with or without a smile, but the reality is that facial matching software would, by nature, be far more accurate if the faces had the same expression. So far, 31 states use some version of this technology, and in Illinois alone, the system has stopped 6,000 people from getting fraudulent licenses since 1999. So if you go to the DMV, don’t get too annoyed if they tell you not to smile… Protecting your identity and decreasing the incidences of driver’s license fraud are worth it.

Tired of junk mail in your mailbox? Want to be placed on every Do-Not-Call List possible, and keep those lists updated? Want to aid in the fight against email spam? Then sign up for the Privacy Council’s List Removal Service. A small monthly charge ensures that your name is removed from all major marketing lists, and that your name is KEPT off those lists. Sign up now!