About genetic privacy, World Privacy Forum publications on genetic privacy, genetic privacy issues, and other resources What is Genetic Privacy? Genetic privacy relates to the complex set of issues surrounding how DNA information about individuals is handled and used. Some genetic privacy issues relate to the acquisition of DNA samples ...
This resource page is a curated list of WPF public comments to agencies, as well as other public comments focused on privacy.
WPF's new interactive map identifies Health Information Exchanges in California. A Health Information Exchange, or HIE, is technology that enables the electronic movement of health-related information among health care providers and others. HIEs are an increasingly popular way for hospitals, pharmacies, labs, and emergency room physicians to share patient information. HIEs can exchange records across one hospital, across multiple hospitals in a region, or across a whole state. If your health information is being shared through an HIE, your lab test results, medications, medical history, or other clinical information related to your health care may be included in the sharing. See more about HIEs and our California HIE Map here.
World Privacy Forum information and materials on medical identity theft.
Cloud computing involves the sharing or storage by users of their own information on remote servers owned or operated by others and accessed through the Internet or other connections. Cloud computing services exist in many variations, including data storage sites, video sites, tax preparation sites, personal health record websites, photography websites, social networking sites, and many more.
Some of the advertising that is done online comes with hooks. Using a variety of technologies, some largely unseen, online advertisers can track online activities, sometimes in profound ways that consumers are not expecting. Not all online advertising has "hooks" that are problematic or that raise privacy challenges. But a type of advertising called "behaviorally targeted advertising" often does. Behavioral advertising has two key components: tracking and targeting.
A credit freeze (sometimes called a security freeze) lets you stop the disclosure of your credit report by a credit bureau. Currently, the three credit bureaus are allowing all consumers nationwide to set a security freeze for a fee. Some states have specific security freeze laws; a list of states with security freeze laws may be found below. However, even if you live in a state without a security freeze law, you can still set a security freeze.
World Privacy Forum information and materials on Genetic Privacy.
Information about job search privacy issues.
The National Health Information Network (NHIN) is an ambitious modernization plan proposed by the U.S. government. The idea is to move as an entire nation from paper medical files to electronic medical files that are shared. Specifically, the government goal is to digitize patients' health records and medical files and create a national network to place the information in. The network, called the NHIN, would be a sophisticated network that hospitals, insurers, doctors, and others could potentially access. Such a network brings patient privacy, security, and confidentiality issues into sharp relief.
Information and research about job scams.
Landing page for Call Don't Click: Why it's smarter to order your federally mandated free credit reports via telephone, not the Interent. A report on www.annualcreditreport.com by the World Privacy Forum.
* The December 12 consumer report relating to what became the UMAB scam may be found at <https://www.worldprivacyforum.org> and <http://www.privacyrights.org> * FTC Help Line: Call this number to file a complaint about fraudulent jobs. (877) 382-4357.
PHRs have been promoted in recent years as being an empowering panacea of benefits for consumers, but there has been little meaningful discussion of the complex and serious privacy issues PHRs can raise. For example, very few consumers know that not all PHRs are protected by HIPAA, the federal privacy rule that applies to medical files held at, for example, hospitals.
The World Privacy Forum's Workplace Privacy Project is a long term project to study and document privacy practices in the areas of job applicant privacy, workplace privacy, background checks, and related areas.