Consumer Privacy

World Privacy Forum testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee

Congressional testimony — WPF executive director Pam Dixon testified at a joint subcommittee hearing focused on privacy and the collection and use of online and offline consumer information. Dixon’s testimony focused on the new “modern permanent record” and how it is used and created. Dixon said “The merging of offline and online data is creating highly personalized, granular profiles of consumers that affect consumers’ opportunities in the marketplace and in their lives. Consumers are largely unaware of these profiles and their consequences, and they have insufficient legal rights to change things even if they did know.” The testimony explored concrete examples of problematic consumer profiling activities.

WPF Resource Page: State Security Freeze Laws and General Information

A credit freeze (sometimes called a security freeze) lets you stop the disclosure of your credit report by a credit bureau. Currently, the three credit bureaus are allowing all consumers nationwide to set a security freeze for a fee. Some states have specific security freeze laws; a list of states with security freeze laws may be found below. However, even if you live in a state without a security freeze law, you can still set a security freeze.

IAB releases guidelines for controlling behavioral advertising practices

Self regulation — The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released its self-regulatory guidelines for online advertisers. There are some bright spots in the new guidelines. In the area of sensitive information, especially regarding health privacy, the guidelines are weak and need improvement. The IAB definition of sensitive health information is weaker than the definition of sensitive information already adopted by industry in the formal NAI agreement. Additionally, the new IAB guidelines rely on weak accountability standards. WPF urges the IAB to re-examine the sensitive health definition, provide more accountability, and to include consumer input in a meaningful way into the drafting process.