Privacy

By Rainey Reitman
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

Employees losing laptop computers, hackers downloading credit card numbers and sensitive personal data accidentally exposed online -- the Chronology of Data Breaches shows hundreds of ways that the personal information of consumers is lost, stolen or exposed.

The Chronology of Data Breaches, a project of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse since 2005, lists incidents involving breached consumer information, such as personal medical records, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. The most recent total, published August 24, 2010, is a wake-up call to consumers who think identity theft can’t happen to them.

By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California

On March 17 through 19th, the Public Utilities Commission held a series of workshops exploring various issues related to the development of a smart grid for distribution of electricity. My comments as a March 19th panelist on privacy concerns are reprinted below.

"The emerging Smart Grid electricity system will allow utilities to collect and possibly distribute detailed information about household electricity consumption habits - ice makers will operate only when the washing machine isn't, TVs will shut off when viewers leave the room, air conditioner and heater levels will be operated more efficiently based on time of day and climate.

By Steve Mehlman
UDW Homecare Providers Union

A homecare provider from San Diego told legislators yesterday how she and her client--a quadriplegic Vietnam veteran--were threatened and harrassed by a fraud investigator from the state.

Nancy Jo Riley of San Diego testified that she and her client were "randomly selected" for a fraud investigation last October as part of a new "anti-fraud" initiative by the state. According to Ms. Riley, the agent from the Department of Health Care Services (DCHS) first threatened in a phone call to cut off all IHSS unless she and her client met with him immediately.

At the subsequent meeting, the investigator asked her and her client a long series of "humiliating" questions. He then said he could not understand why a person with a severe disability like his should be subject to a fraud investigation in the first place.  

By Clint Reilly

Last month we learned that lax security procedures allowed a terrorist to board a commercial flight bound for Detroit with a bomb sewn into his underwear. Luckily, the device’s detonator failed, sparing the lives of hundreds of passengers.

Nevertheless, the botched plot exacted a heavy economic and psychological toll.

The subsequent national uproar forced President Obama to call for full body scanners at airports and led to severely tightened security precautions at airports around the world. Air travelers reported tortuous delays and federal officials laid plans to spend $1 billion on full-body scanners.

As I watched the president and his White House aides call for even tighter airline security measures, I wondered why the gold plated equipment and elaborate precautions already in place had missed an underwear bomb.

By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California

In response to the attempted terror attack on a Northwest flight bound for Detroit the Fear-Industrial-Complex (i.e. Department of Defense, corporate media, talk radio, security technologies industry, Congress, the White House, “the intelligence community”, pundits, weapons/defense contractors, etc.) has kicked into high gear.

"Terror hysteria" has become all the rage again - echoing throughout the corporate media landscape and out of the frothing mouths of politicians desperate to demonstrate just how tough they are (Republicans are literally disgracing themselves, again, and again).

By Pedro Morrillas
CALPIRG

CALPIRG compiles an annual legislative scorecard for all members of the California legislature, to educate the public about their representatives' voting records and hold elected officials accountable.

Our 2009 scorecard focuses on key consumer votes in the legislature.

Find out how your State Assemblymember voted here.

Find out how your State Senator voted here. 

Thirteen state Senators and twenty-five state Assemblymembers received 100 percent scores for their strong record of voting to protect consumers, rather than special interests.

The average score in the Assembly is 66 percent. The average score in the Senate is 65 percent.

By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California

Every year the Consumer Federation of California monitors dozens of consumer rights related bills - supporting legislation that protects the public interest and opposing corporate attempts to maximize profit at the consumer’s expense. Each year, many of these bills are "killed" in the legislature while many others reach the Governor's desk to either be signed into law or vetoed.

Some of the most important consumer protection laws - which CFC actively supported - going into effect on January 1st, 2010, include:

By Ashley Katz
Patient Privacy Rights

If you are enthusiastic about managing your own health, you are the caretaker for your family’s health, or you just like to try out new technology you might have signed up for a Personal Health Record or “PHR”. A PHR can collect and store official records, labs, tests, and claims data directly deposited by providers.

A PHR can also store other health-related data such as heart rate, glucose levels, medications, allergies, exercise habits, lifestyle, sexual history, personal notes and other data you create. Most PHRS are online; some are programs that can be downloaded to your home computer. Many are free.

PHRs are designed for and marketed directly to you, the patient. You are most likely to be using a PHR right now if:

a) your employer offered it to you, or
b) your insurance company offered it to you.

By Nicole Ozer
ACLU of Northern California

The next time you log onto Facebook, you'll be thinking about privacy: how private are your photos, friends, status updates, and personal details, and how public do you actually want them to be? 

In response to pressure about its privacy practices, including an ACLU petition signed by over 43,000 concerned Internet users, Facebook has released a new privacy policy, modified its profile and publication privacy controls, and rolled out a "Transition Tool" to guide all 350 million Facebook users through the process of choosing new privacy settings.

To learn more about today's changes and tips on the new privacy controls, visit our resource page, What Does Facebook's Privacy Transition Mean for You?

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), a leading authority on personal privacy issues, recently launched a totally redesigned website: www.privacyrights.org

Established in 1992, the San Diego based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a nonprofit consumer organization with a two-part mission -- consumer information and consumer advocacy.