Spotlight Archive

• Friday, September 09, 2011
  WellPoint/Anthem Blue Cross class action »
  Victims of the ID Theft Breach at WellPoint/Anthem Blue Cross have less than three weeks to sign up for certain court-ordered benefits under the class action settlement.
  
  
• Thursday, February 03, 2011
  Are social networks "friends" with law enforcement? »
  The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a privacy coalition partner with Consumer Action, has released more information on how the government seeks and obtains personal information from social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. EFF asked the Department of Justice and other federal agencies for copies of guides, not previously made public, that these sites send out to law enforcement explaining how agents can obtain information about users and what kinds of information are available. The guides reveal that social networking sites have struggled to develop consistent, straightforward policies to govern how and when they will provide private user information to law enforcement agencies. Click here to visit EFF's report entitled "Social Media and Law Enforcement: Who Gets What Data and When?"
  
  
• Thursday, January 13, 2011
  Supreme Court health data case could sway online privacy debate »
  The Supreme Court has announced it will hear Sorrell v. IMS Health, a case relating to the sale of personal health data, such as prescriptions. It's a case that will affect both consumer health privacy laws and may influence the ongoing debate over online privacy.
  
  
• Thursday, December 30, 2010
  Our privacy work in 2010 »
  Online privacy exploded into a highly charged public debate in 2010, attracting the attention of Congress, federal regulators, and Internet users. Consumer Action was in the heart of the action, advocating for strong consumer rights with government agencies, industry representatives and legislators alike.
  
  
• Friday, December 03, 2010
  Protecting the privacy of your genetic information »
  The use of consumers' genetic information has grown, from use in human health and reproductive technologies to the criminal justice system. The Council for Responsible Genetics has released a Genetic Privacy Manual that offers a glimpse into the science behind genetic intrusions, the privacy risks involved in releasing genetic information in various contexts, and the degree of legal and regulatory protection available.
  
  
• Thursday, December 03, 2009
  Report cards grade privacy of online personal health records »
  Consumer Action's coalition partner, Patient Privacy Rights, has launched a report card that evaluates the privacy options in five popular personal health records systems.
  
  
• Friday, October 30, 2009
  NPR series examines digital privacy »
  National Public Radio (NPR) has launched series that looks at many aspects of digital privacy, including a discussion on cell phone privacy, social networking, and privacy law.
  
  
• Friday, August 21, 2009
  Personal health records subject to breach notice »
  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes provisions to strengthen privacy and security protections for companies that offer web-based “personal health record” services. (One such business in Microsoft Health Vault.) The law directed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a rule requiring these companies to contact customers in the event of a security breach. After receiving comments from the public, the FTC issued the Health Breach Notification Rule.
  
  
• Thursday, June 04, 2009
  Report: 'Web bugs' tracking you online »
  Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information released a report on June 1 showing that the most popular Web sites in the United States all share data with their corporate affiliates and allow third parties to collect information directly by using tracking beacons known as "Web bugs" - despite the sites' claims that they don't share user data with third parties.
  
  
• Wednesday, June 03, 2009
  Looking for a job and finding a scam »
  Finding work in today's economy isn't easy. To make matters worse, some of the millions of Americans going online to find work are, instead, being scammed. According to MSN and Marketwatch, some consumers are falling victim to fake job postings that lure an unsuspecting applicant into becoming a "mule" for illegal operations, such as wiring money or shipping stolen merchandise. The job description might sound legitimate, using the words "international wire transfers" or "repackaging merchandise" to attract would-be employees, and some scammers are even setting up fake professional-looking corporate websites for the job posts.
  
  
• Thursday, April 16, 2009
  Patient’s Guide to HIPAA »
  HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), a 1996 federal statute, is the most important federal health privacy law. Most of this guide explains what you should know about HIPAA. This guide also highlights some other federal laws that may be relevant to health privacy.
  
  
• Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  Patient Privacy Rights 'Toolkit' »
  Consumer Action's Privacy Information Project recommends Patient Privacy Rights' online “Privacy Toolkit” of forms and other information to help consumers protect their medical information.
  
  
• Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  Exploring our 'Digital Destiny' »
  Privacy activist and author Jeff Chester explores our "Digital Destiny" in this book that delves into media and telecommunications regulation. Chester explains clearly how the new media system functions, what’s at stake, and what we can do to fight the corporate media’s plans for our “digital destiny."
  
  

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