IP: California privacy legislation

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: "Gillmor, Dan" <DGillmor () sjmercury com>
> Reply-To: farber () cis upenn edu
> To: "'David Farber '" <farber () cis upenn edu>
> Subject: California privacy legislation
> Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 07:14:16 -0800
>
> http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg032800.htm
>
> NOT too long ago, someone I know well suffered that most modern of crimes,
> identity theft. A crook got hold of useful information -- including her
> Social Security number -- and used it to create a fraudulent identity.
>
> The victim discovered the fraud when bills started coming in for things she
> hadn't bought. Then ``I got letters from lawyers saying they were suing me
> because I hadn't paid,'' she says. The onus was on her to make things right
> with credit bureaus, financial institutions and the like -- and the
> paperwork was massive.
>
> This kind of outrage is all too common. American businesses are all too
> casual with our Social Security numbers and other information. Greasing the
> wheels of commerce has been far, far more important than protecting people's
> privacy. Law enforcement, meanwhile, believes it has better things to do
> than investigate, much less prosecute, such crimes.
>
> But you can almost feel privacy gaining strength as a public issue. The
> Internet Age has opened people's eyes, because people are beginning to see
> the consequences when all kinds of data ends up in databases that are open
> to anyone with sufficient cash.
>
> Not many legislators -- federal, state or local -- have grasped the growing
> public angst until recently. One of several in the California Legislature
> who understood the issue early is state Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach,
> who has introduced several bills that would go a long way toward protecting
> you and me from predatory data practices.
>
> ...