Internet privacy -- Working to proactively prevent problems related to the use of search engines is preferable to trying to clean up privacy problems after the fact. Here are some tips and resources for enhancing search engine privacy.
Identity theft -- The World Privacy Forum submitted comments in response to the Federal Trade Commission's request for feedback on its upcoming identity theft survey. The FTC identity theft survey is one of the most quoted surveys on the subject. The World Privacy Forum requested changes and clarifications to the survey, including adding questions about security breach notices and clarifying existing questions about medical identity theft, among other issues.
Five groups joined the World Privacy Forum in asking for changes to be made to a proposed rule on how medical healthcare claims attachments are handled electronically. The World Privacy Forum and the EFF, EPIC, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Privacy Activism and U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) asked that physicians be given more control over what parts of health records they send electronically to insurance companies, that psychotherapy notes not be included when sending health records for insurance payment, and that the HIPAA Privacy Rule be rigorously applied to scanned health records.
Medical privacy -- The World Privacy Forum filed comments with Health and Human Services this week asking the agency to protect patient choice and privacy. The World Privacy Forum asked that patients continue to be able to receive accounting of disclosures under HIPAA, and asked that this important patient right under HIPAA not be removed or weakened. The World Privacy Forum also asked HHS to review how patients' records can be amended under HIPAA, and recommended that in light of the coming National Health Information Network, that changes to enhance patient choice may be needed in this area.
Medical privacy -- The World Privacy Forum testified before the National Committee on Vital Health Statistics in August regarding the importance of patient choice in the area of Electronic Health Records. The testimony stressed the importance of building security, patient privacy, and choice into EHRs and any form of the proposed National Health Information Network (NHIN).
Telemarketing -- In official comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the World Privacy Forum urged the Commission to maintain state telemarketing regulations.
Resume and job searching privacy -- Before you post your resume online, read these twelve resume posting truths to help minimize resume privacy problems such as identity theft. Job Seekers Guide to Resume Databases: Twelve Resume Posting Truths .
Medical privacy -- In HIPAA news, the Department of Justice has released a new ruling regarding HIPAA. The opinion is available here (PDF). Also, the HHS report summarizing the 500 + comments on the RFI for the National Health Information Network has been posted. The HHS report is available here. The World Privacy Forum and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted joint comments for the NHIN RFI, those comments are available here (PDF).
Financial and Internet privacy -- Before you call, click, or mail away for your federally mandated free credit report, read these tips to help you avoid potential problems. This consumer tip sheet includes graphics to show you what problematic "fake" free credit sites look like, and includes consumer-tested tips for safely receiving your free reports. The tip sheet also includes resources with information, phone numbers, and addresses for ordering your report.
We request that the Federal Trade Commission take immediate steps to correct the credit bureaus’ implementation of the Web site www.annualcreditreport.com. As you know, Congress mandated that the credit bureaus create a central repository for consumers to access their credit report free of charge on a once-per-year basis.
Medical Privacy | Infrastructure & Databases -- The World Privacy Forum and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have submitted official comments in response to the U.S. government's "Request for Information" about its plan to digitize all patient medical records and create an electronic "National Health Information Network" or NHIN. The comments urge caution in designing the NHIN and call for the government to build privacy, security, and open source technologies into the system from the beginning of the project.
The World Privacy Forum and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted comments in response to the U.S. government's "Request for Information" about its plan to digitize all patient medical records and create an electronic "National Health Information Network" or NHIN. The comments urge caution in designing the NHIN and call for the government to build privacy, security, and open source technologies into the system from the beginning of the project.
Workplace Surveillance and Privacy -- The World Privacy Forum testified on January 19 regarding the need to build reasonable privacy and security protections into the proposed "smart" Federal ID cards. The testimony included recommendations on making the mandated employee background checks equitable, careful implementation of the Privacy Act, and conducting a Privacy Impact Assessment. Other key issues included setting limits on card use and protecting the mandated source documents, such as birth certificates, that will be required to obtain a card.
Workplace privacy | ID cards | Biometrics -- WPF, EFF, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and PrivacyActivism call for greater attention to privacy provisions of the proposed new Federal ID card, which will be "contactless."
Job Search Privacy Guide -- Originally created for the 2003 Job Search Privacy Study in PDF format, the Guide has been made into an easy to use Web page. Job seekers can now click through the guide as they look for job sites that are pro-privacy.
Consumer tips on managing cookies -- Some computer cookies are harmless, but others can track your moves across many Web sites, eventually building a detailed history of your preferences. The good news is that you can manage these persistent tracking cookies to some degree. To do this, you need to know how to say no to the third party tracking cookies you don't want while still allowing yourself to say yes to the cookies you do want. There are several ways to do this. One way is to download "opt-out cookies." Another way is to use your browser's cookie management tools to manage your cookies. Another method is to regularly delete unwanted cookies. In some cases, you can stop tracking through account preferences at some web sites.
WPF Report -- This report tracks a widespread online job scam over the course of a year from July 2003 to July 2004. The report contains findings, recommendations, critical new tips for job seekers, and examples and explanations of the scam in action (emails to victims, contracts, etc.) The report examines the intersection between job fraud and job seeker privacy. Responses from job sites about what they are doing about job fraud are included in the report.
Job applicant rights and privacy -- This visual timeline chronicles a year of a job scam. The timeline documents the cities the fake jobs were targeting, dates the jobs posted, the various company names the scam operated under, and the contact names used in the scam. The job scam timeline is documented with screen shots of the job listings and how they looked as posted. The scam is still active.
Consumer tips -- These reality-based consumer tips are simple and are based on research from the key findings in the World Privacy Forum Job Scam Report. The Consumer Tips include "Red flags" to recognize scams and a step-by-step explanation and illustration using real examples of how one type of scam operates.
Online privacy and WHOIS database -- In comments submitted to ICANN's Task Forces 1 and 2 on the WHOIS Database, the World Privacy Forum has asked for tiered access to domain registry information. This would allow domain registrants the ability to keep home phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses private. The WPF has also asked that personal information in the WHOIS database not be made available to marketers.
Consumer Alert -- The World Privacy Forum and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse have become aware of a nationwide job scam currently in action. We are advising job seekers to avoid any response to job ads coming from Unk Electronics, Macrocommerce Intersales, and Nanjing Panada Electronics, and to be aware of the high potential for financial fraud and or identity theft if they have already responded to job ads from these companies.
Job Searching in the Networked Environment: Consumer Benchmarks -- The World Privacy Forum officially launches with this inaugural report, a study a year in its research on the job search sector. This study, The 2003 Job Search Privacy Study: Job Searching in the Networked Environment: Consumer Benchmarks , documents job applicant privacy across the job search industry from resume writers to job search sites to resume blasters and other parts of the job search infrastructure.