About the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse


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The real danger is the gradual erosion of individual liberties through the automation, integration, and interconnection of many small, separate record-keeping systems, each of which alone may seem innocuous, even benevolent, and wholly justifiable.

-----U.S. Privacy Protection Study Commission, 1977


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Contact Information
PRC Mission and Goals
PRC Services
PRC Staff
PRC Advisory Board
PRC Funders		 Awards
Praise for the PRC
Donating to the PRC
Copyright & Reprint Guidelines
Privacy Policy
 

Contact Information

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
3100 - 5th Ave., Suite B
San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: (619) 298-3396
Fax: (619) 298-5681 (The PRC does not accept unsolicited ads.)
Web: http://www.privacyrights.org

Beth Givens, Director
Paul Stephens, Director of Policy and Advocacy
Rainey Reitman, Writer & Privacy Advocate
 For more information about our staff, see below.

Cick here to send the PRC staff an email.

 

PRC Mission and Goals

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) is a nonprofit consumer organization with a two-part mission -- consumer information and consumer advocacy. It was established in 1992 and is based in San Diego, California. It is primarily grant-supported and serves individuals nationwide.

 

The PRC's goals are to:

 

  • Raise consumers' awareness of how technology affects personal privacy.

  • Empower consumers to take action to control their own personal information by providing practical tips on privacy protection.

  • Respond to specific privacy-related complaints from consumers, intercede on their behalf, and, when appropriate, refer them to the proper organizations for further assistance.

  • Document the nature of consumers' complaints and questions about privacy in reports, testimony, and speeches and make them available to policy makers, industry representatives, consumer advocates, and the media.

  • Advocate for consumers' privacy rights in local, state, and federal public policy proceedings, including legislative testimony, regulatory agency hearings, task forces, and study commissions as well as conferences and workshops.

PRC Services

  • A hotline for consumers to report privacy abuses and request information on ways to protect their privacy. Call (619) 298-3396 or contact us here.
  • An extensive series of fact sheets on privacy issues, available in English and some in Spanish.

  • Assistance and interviews for journalists, providing background and comments for stories.

  • A referral service for journalists and policymakers who are seeking victims of privacy abuses who have indicated a willingness to talk with the media and/or testify in legislative and regulatory agency hearings.

 

  • A speakers service, in which PRC staff make presentations at conferences, employee training sessions, and civic and community group meetings.

 

 

Staff of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse     

 

  • Beth Givens is founder and director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, established in 1992. She has developed the Fact Sheet series as author and/or editor. She authored the encyclopedia entries on identity theft for Encyclopedia of Privacy (2007), World Book Encyclopedia (2004) and Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment (2002). She is author of The Privacy Rights Handbook: How to Take Control of Your Personal Information (Avon, 1997) and is co-author of Privacy Piracy: A Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft (1999). She contributed a chapter on consumer and privacy rights to the 2006 book, RFID: Applications, Security and Privacy.

    •  

    Givens represents the interests of consumers in public policy proceedings at the state and federal levels (California Legislature, U.S. Congress, and federal and state regulatory agencies). Her contributions to legislative hearings, regulatory workshops, and public policy conferences are found in the Speeches & Testimony section of the web site.

     

    Givens has participated in numerous task forces and commissions including: California Real ID Act Privacy & Security Work Group, California Radio Frequency ID Advisory Committee, California Office of Privacy Protection Advisory Committee, California Secretary of State Voter Privacy Task Force, TRUSTe Wireless Advisory Committee, U.S. Decennial Census Advisory Committee, Justice Management Institute Advisory Committee on Electronic Access to Court Records, California Task Force on Criminal Records Identity Theft, California Legislature's Joint Task Force on Personal Information and Privacy; and the California Judicial Council's Subcommittee on Privacy and Access.

     

    She is often interviewed by the media on consumer privacy issues, including: The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, NPR Morning Edition, NPR Talk of the Nation, Marketplace, and all major U.S. newspapers.

     

    Prior to her work as a consumer advocate, she was a librarian specializing in library network development and resource sharing.

 

  • Paul Stephens is part-time Director of Policy and Advocacy with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. He has been associated with the PRC since 2005. Stephens has extensive experience in public policy, regulatory issues, and legislative matters. He also has considerable specialized expertise in federal rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings. Stephens has served as advisor to several federal Commissions and councils covering a broad range of regulatory activities. He has developed numerous policy briefing papers and regulatory analyses and made presentations to a variety of civilian and military agencies. Stephens is experienced in legislative affairs, having been responsible for reviewing numerous pieces of proposed legislation.

    Stephens represents the PRC in media interviews facilitating consumer awareness of important privacy issues. He develops PRC consumer educational materials including newsletters, consumer alerts, privacy tips, and fact sheets. He also conducts research in support of PRC's consumer outreach programs. Stephens has had a long time interest in consumer advocacy and privacy issues, and enjoys working to protect consumers' privacy rights.

 

  • Tena Friery is a part-time Privacy Rights Clearinghouse staff member, with expertise in financial privacy, credit reporting, medical records and HIPAA, employment and volunteer background screening, telecommunications, and debt collection. She has been associated with the PRC since 1999. Prior to joining the PRC, she was a senior financial fraud investigator with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with previous experience involving the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act in the CFTC's Office of General Counsel. In addition, she has a background as a paralegal.

    Friery often represents the PRC in media interviews. She has participated in numerous public policy proceedings and conferences representing consumers' interests. Friery has also authored many Fact Sheets for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse as well as numerous comments filed with state and federal regulatory agencies.

 

  • Rainey Reitman joined the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse staff in 2009 as a Writer and Privacy Advocate.  Prior to joining the PRC, Reitman worked in public relations and communications in the medical field. Reitman received her bachelor's degree from Bard College and has studied at Wellesley College, Saint Petersburg University and Smolney Institute.  She studied extensively in Russia prior to moving to San Diego in 2005.   As a member of the PRC, Reitman writes content for the privacyrights.org website, spearheads the social media campaign, responds to media inquiries and assists consumers in understanding their rights to privacy.

 

PRC Advisory Board

 

PRC Funders

Recent PRC funding has been provided by the Rose Foundation Consumer Privacy Rights Fund, California Consumer Protection Foundation, Roger L. Kohn Fund, and Consumer Federation of America. 

The PRC is an independent program of the Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), a San Diego-based nonprofit membership organization which advocates for consumers' interests in telecommunications, energy, and the Internet. UCAN also supports the PRC.

 

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse was originally established in 1992 with funding from the Telecommunications Education Trust (TET), a program of the California Public Utilities Commission. It was housed at the University of San Diego Center for Public Interest Law (www.cpil.org) from 1992 through 1996, when the TET program expired.

We are grateful to all our supporters. Learn how you can support our work by reading below.

 

Awards     

 

 

 

  • The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and its affiliated Identity Theft Resource Center were honored with a year-2000 award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice (www.justiceawards.com) for their work with identity theft victims.

 

  • The PRC received the 1997 Consumer Action Award for its "outstanding service to consumers." (www.consumer-action.org)

 

 

Praise for the PRC

 

One of the most rewarding aspects of our work is hearing from individuals who we have assisted. Here is some recent feedback:

  • Thanks for putting a great website together. It is very informative. (1/27/10)

  • Thank you very much, it's good to know that there's someone out there looking out for the interests of consumers. (1/11/10)
  • Thank you so much for some kind of direction!I truly appreciate your help during [this] frustrating  problem. (12/18/09)
  • That was very informative!  Thank you so much. ...  You've honestly been more help than any other person I've spoken with and I truly thank you for going out of your way. (10/28/09)
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  • Interesting times, but the watchdogs of the world, like you, certainly give comfort. (8/5/09)
  • Having spent the better part of two days scouring the Internet to curb the easy availability of extraneous information on myself and my family, I wish to express my gratitude for your efforts, and the excellent resources you provide, as a public service. (6/16/09)

 

  • Wow, I so appreciate your responding with a personal, tailored reply! (and so quickly!) I'm very impressed and grateful, thank you. (2/14/09)

  • I just want to thank you for [your data breaches web page]. Awareness is the first step in helping people realize how vulnerable they are, so they can take steps to ensure privacy better. ... I'm a lady whose life was literally destroyed by a stalker who accessed information such as the data breaches contain. I'm also a participant in an Address Confidentiality Program. (2/14/09)

  • I have made your website a favorite on my computer. ... I feel more secure knowing my rights [about debt collection law]. I have shared the information on your site with friends and relatives in this same situation. It seems the worse the economy gets the more vicious the collection agencies get. (02/02/2009)

  • Not until I emailed you and you graciously replied with hope and contact information [for Company X's privacy officer] did things start happening. ... Thank you so much for doing what you do and especially for the calming words you gave me when I needed to be calm. (1/15/09)

 

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How to Donate to the PRC

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse appreciates donations from those who value the information we provide on our web site and when we assist them through replies to our inquiry form or with direct intervention. Your support of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse enables us to continue to educate consumers and advocate for stronger privacy-protection laws, regulations and industry practices.

 

The PRC is a nonprofit program and your donations are tax-deductible. The parent organization of the PRC, the Utility Consumers' Action Network, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

 

Individuals may donate to the PRC in two ways: By using our online Donate Now feature at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=2740 or by printing out our contributions form and sending a check to the address above which also is on the form.

 

Be assured that 100% of your donation will support the work of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Also, please know that we do not release the names of individual donors to others.

 

Our organization also accepts Cy Pres funding. If you are interested in speaking with the PRC about a Cy Pres settlement award, please contact PRC Director Beth Givens.

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