If you're a survivor of domestic violence, both federal and state laws offer important privacy protections to help keep you safe in your housing.

Federal protections apply nationwide:

  • The Violence Against Women Act prevents federally-funded housing providers from sharing your survivor status or documentation you provide.¹ These records cannot be entered into shared databases where an abuser might find them.

State and Local Protections

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, alongside civil rights, consumer advocates, and privacy organizations, urges support for California Assembly Bill 446 (AB 446), legislation designed to ban the unfair practice of "surveillance pricing." Surveillance pricing occurs when businesses use personal consumer data, such as browsing history, location, or past purchases, to set individualized prices, resulting in unfair price discrimination.

This critical legislation strengthens privacy protections by prohibiting the sale of electronic health data, requiring affirmative consent for data processing, and ensuring that health data remains private and protected.

To read more, download the full letter using the download PDF button to the right.