Consumer Privacy

Oct 15 2017

Top Ten Opt Outs: Updates

We have updated a popular page at World Privacy Forum, our Top Ten Opt Outs. This page has been in publication since 2007. Today, we treat the Top Ten Opt Outs as a living document, and update it frequently. If you have questions about any of the opt outs, please contact us, and we will

Sep 08 2017

Three steps to take today if you have been impacted by the Equifax data breach

Note: This post has been updated. We have added our tips for immediate steps victims (or potential victims) of the Equifax data breach can take. In this updated version of our tips, we have added information for individuals in the UK who want to check and see if they have been affected by the breach,

Jul 18 2017

FBI issues rare alert warning parents of privacy risks with smart toys

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a rare alert to parents about “smart toys,” that is, those that connect to WiFi, and may contain microphones, sensors, and other information-gathering capacities. The alert states that these kinds of toys could pose risks to childrens’ privacy and safety. The alert, issued 17 July, 2017, states: “Smart

Jul 06 2017

Some Online Loan Applications Endanger Consumers

Have you ever filled out an application online for a “loan matching service”? If so, you have to hope that you didn’t fill out an application on one of the websites operated by a company called Blue Global. They ran websites like autoloansusa.com, loanmarketplace.com, moneytoday.com, 247loan.com, 100dayloans.com, and others. Court documents released this week by the US Federal Trade Commission reveal that after the company collected consumers’ financial information, it sold most of that information to non-lenders, including SSNs, bank account numbers, and …

May 23 2017

Updated Top Ten Opt Outs for 2017 & 10 year anniversary of Top Ten Opt Outs

Our Top Ten Opt Outs is one of our most popular consumer guides. In it, you can see a short list of the most important privacy opt outs available to you today; we’ve curated the opt-outs and made things simple so you don’t have to wander through a list of hundreds of choices. We’re pleased to

National IDs Around the World — Interactive map

About this Data Visualization: This interactive map displays the presence...
Report: From the Filing Cabinet to the Cloud: Updating the Privacy Act of 1974

This comprehensive report and proposed bill text is focused on the Privacy Act of 1974, an important and early Federal privacy law that applies to the government sector and some contractors. The Privacy Act was written for the 1970s information era -- an era that was characterized by the use of mainframe computers and filing cabinets. Today's digital information era looks much different than the '70s: smart phones are smarter than the old mainframes, and documents are now routinely digitized and stored and perhaps even analyzed in the cloud, among many other changes. The report focuses on why the Privacy Act needs an update that will bring it into this century, and how that could look and work. This work was written by Robert Gellman, and informed by a two-year multi-stakeholder process.
COVID-19 and HIPAA: HHS’s Troubled Approach to Waiving Privacy and Security Rules for the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic strained the U.S. health ecosystem in numerous ways, including putting pressure on the HIPAA privacy and security rules. The Department of Health and Human Services adjusted the privacy and security rules for the pandemic through the use of statutory and administrative HIPAA waivers. While some of the adjustments are appropriate for the emergency circumstances, there are also some meaningful and potentially unwelcome privacy and security consequences. At an appropriate time, the use of HIPAA waivers as a response to health care emergencies needs a thorough review. This report sets out the facts, identifies the issues, and proposes a roadmap for change.