COMMENTS TO FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Submitted by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse on Feb. 18, 2011

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) respectfully submits the following comments to the Federal Trade Commission for its consideration with respect to the December 2010 Preliminary FTC Staff Report: “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change.”

1. Background

2. General Statements

3. Scope

On Feb. 10, 2011, the California Supreme Court ruled that retail stores are not allowed to request and record a consumer's zip code as part of a credit card transaction. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Consumer Federation of California, that

In the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, many consumers are feeling hopeful, romantic, and generous – feelings online criminals prey on in order to scam you. Most online scams fool you into clicking on malicious (dangerous) links. This week, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse urges consumers to be especially cautious online.

Comments of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Information Privacy and Innovation in the Internet
Docket No. 101214614-0614-01
RIN 0660-XA22
Department of Commerce
Office of the Secretary
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
International Trade Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology

January 28, 2011

Many Americans are wrapping up a holiday season filled with online shopping, Facebook status updates, and gifts of smartphones and eBook readers. Now that the New Year is upon us, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is urging Americans to pay attention to the privacy risks that accompany these trending technologies.

December 13, 2010

TO:

Edwin Hoffmark
California Department of Public Health
PO Box 997377; MS 3201
Sacramento, CA 95899-7337

Submitted via email: RNUnit-at-cdph.ca.gov

Dear Mr. Hoffmark:

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse[1] appreciates the opportunity to submit pre-meeting comments regarding the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) upcoming regulations regarding breaches of consumers’ personal health data. We direct our comments as follows:

Submitted by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

December 1, 2010

Federal Trade Commission
Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex W)
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20580
ATTN: Christopher Koegel

Submitted electronically: https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/deceaseddebtcollection

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) has persistently challenged the health care industry’s improper use and disclosure of confidential medical information, which in many instances is used to market new or additional medication to patients. PRC has become aware that Caremark, a CVS owned company and one of the country’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), is improperly sharing prescription information with CVS to steer pharmacy patients to CVS pharmacies.

Is your bank starting to charge you monthly fees for your formerly free checking account? Has a large, impersonal bank taken over the smaller bank that you were used to? Do you visit your local branch for service, and receive a sales pitch for products that you do not want? For these and other reasons, many consumers have become dissatisfied with their banking arrangements. If you are unhappy with your current bank, this alert will help you navigate the issues involved in switching your checking account to a new financial institution.

Snap a photo of a sunset with your iPhone and you can upload it to Twitter with a few clicks. But your smartphone might be transmitting more than a pretty photograph.  It could be collecting and storing data about your real-time location – and then broadcasting that information when you upload photos onto the Internet.

What is Geotagging?