Testimony by Beth Givens, Executive Director, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (July 17, 2014, El Paso TX)
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) is a nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization. We are 21 years old and are located in San Diego, California.
The PRC takes complaints and questions from the general public on a variety of informational privacy issues. These include: debt collection, financial privacy, social media, medical records, employment topics, and Social Security numbers, among others.
Shortly after its founding, Facebook had developed a rather simple privacy policy: “No personal information that you submit to Thefacebook will be available to any user of the Web Site who does not belong to at least one of the groups specified by you in your privacy settings.”
We live in a “social world.” Parents have many opportunities to disclose information about their children in social forums – by posting family news and photos on Facebook, tweeting your child’s latest accomplishments in sports, even launching a blog.
Social media can be a great tool for parents, but how do you know when you are sharing too much information about your kids?
As we become increasingly reliant on digital data, we sometimes take for granted that the companies we entrust with our information are taking the necessary steps to keep it safe. Many are, but many are still way behind and that is what the hackers, cybercriminals and scam artists are counting on.
The fake debt collector scam is particularly disturbing. While the scam isn’t a new one, criminals are finding innovative ways to accomplish their goals of stealing your money, your identity, or both.
The data broker industry has been on the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s (PRC) radar for over a decade, and we continue to receive questions and complaints about data brokers almost every day. Lawmakers, regulators, and media have focused more attention on the industry in recent years, but it is still difficult for individuals to understand what is going on and why they are unable to exercise any meaningful control over their information.
The White House recently released a report on big data. While it was highly anticipated by people who closely follow data privacy issues, chances are that it wasn't on the radar of most individuals. Even so, we believe it is an issue that everybody should start thinking about.
Why is big data a significant privacy challenge?
Passwords are dead. Or so we keep hearing. On their own, passwords clearly aren't the best way to protect our important information and accounts. However, for better or worse passwords are still very much alive until the next solution comes along and is widely adopted.
Chairpersons Jackson and Correa, and members of the Senate Judiciary and Banking Committees:
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the topic of data breaches.
I’m Beth Givens, the director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. We are a nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization, based in San Diego and established 21 years ago in 1992.
With all of the media surrounding the Target, Neiman Marcus, and, now, Michaels data breaches (and potentially other retail outlets), it can be overwhelming to determine what you should do to protect yourself. Even though you can't prevent a breach, there are steps you can and should take to prevent future headache and harm.
Privacy has been a hot topic in 2013, and the New Year presents a perfect opportunity to examine how we protect our personal information and resolve to do better. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse poses ten questions to help you manage your privacy in the coming year.