...companies such as Google and Facebook may know more details about their personal interests than their families does. That's fine as long as users don't mind. But those who want to protect their privacy should be able to do so — easily.

In the wake of a series of privacy missteps by Google, Facebook and other companies, a growing chorus on Capitol Hill is calling for major online privacy legislation and Silicon Valley companies are girding for the battle.

It's ironic that Facebook initially branded itself as the "safe" choice for people who wanted to stay in touch...After an endless series of changes to its privacy policy very little about Facebook seems safe at all.

"...PG&E's basic message has been 'We are 100 percent right, and our customers are 100 percent wrong,'" said Mark Toney...of...TURN. "Today they acknowledged some widespread technology problems, which is what they should have done in the first place."

More Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers who fall behind on their bills will have their power shut off once the utility installs SmartMeters throughout its territory, the company predicted in a recent government filing.

One customer recently discovered that her information had not only been shared with another company but also that the file containing the information was inadvertently posted online for all to see.

"We continue to think the American people are being sold a bill of goods with these body scanners. Giving the government the authority to scrutinize your body is a tremendous invasion of privacy, and the benefits are questionable," said Jay Stanley, a privacy expert in the ACLU's Washington office.

As California's utilities roll out millions of "smart meters" in the coming years, they're creating, for the first time, the possibility that the electricity infrastructure could be hacked through a home...

In a battle that pits privacy against security, the failed attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 last week has revived debate in Congress over the use of whole-body imaging technology to screen airline passengers.

Do you know where your private prescription information is? As pharmacy chains, benefits companies and drug makers work more closely, your prescription history is being shared more than you might think.

...the bill by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza would limit credit screenings to law enforcement and managerial slots, as well as positions that handle large amounts of cash, jewelry or valuables or those that deal with sensitive financial information.

Employers increasingly are using credit checks to screen job applicants, a practice critics say is making it tougher for many unemployed workers to find jobs in the midst of a grinding recession.

CFC's Interim Consumer Scorecard provides a snapshot of lawmakers' votes on several key consumer protection bills. The scorecard includes votes cast before the legislature adjourned for the summer recess.

A California law that lets customers keep banks from sharing information with affiliated companies about their savings accounts and buying habits survived a final legal challenge Monday...The California privacy law, the broadest of its kind in the nation, allows customers to veto a bank's attempt to share certain types of information with affiliated companies.

Charging people again and again to not be listed in a digitally maintained directory is tantamount to extortion, especially in an age where identity theft is the nation's fastest-growing crime. No one should have to pay extra to protect their privacy.

The consumer-oriented measure faced certain defeat in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, where it had been heavily lobbied by phone firms, says state Sen. Fran Pavley.

Social Security numbers, medical records and other personal data could get more protection from disclosure if a bill that passed its first legislative review Tuesday becomes law.

The California State Senate approved today SB 20, legislation by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), which aims to strengthen existing privacy protection laws for California consumers.

It's bad enough that the American banking industry is getting trillions of dollars in taxpayer relief for its colossal misjudgments...the industry is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to scuttle a landmark California law that allows consumers to control the use of their personal financial information.

Simitian...has proposed a new bill, SB 20, that would spell out what companies must tell customers in their data breach letters and require that breaches affecting more than 500 people be reported to the state's attorney general.

A key legislative committee has blocked the DMV's request to fast-track a new technology that the agency is seeking to deter identity theft, scoring a victory for privacy-rights groups.

Two consumer groups plan to ask the Federal Trade Commission today to investigate the privacy threats of mobile advertising, a nascent industry that places marketing messages on cell phone screens.

About a dozen leading privacy and consumer groups met with members of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team Tuesday to discuss the Federal Trade Commission's role in protecting consumer privacy.

This week, California became the second state to pass a law making it illegal to steal data from RFID (radio frequency identification) cards. The law sets a penalty that includes a maximum fine of US$1,500 and up to a year in prison...

A federal appeals court reinstated part of California's financial privacy law Thursday, allowing consumers to prevent banks from sharing information with affiliated companies about a customer's savings account or buying habits.

Opponents, mainly privacy advocates, say they fear that insurance companies could begin tracking more than just a driver's mileage.

The bill -- SB 1096...was approved by the Senate on May 29. But it hit a brick wall Tuesday when it failed to garner a single vote of support in the Assembly Health Committee.

When you take a prescription drug, that's between you, your doctor and your pharmacist. No one else has a right to know. Perhaps not for much longer.

Privacy concerns have been raised about a bill moving through the California Legislature that would let pharmacies partner with drug companies to send out letters reminding patients to refill their prescriptions.

In case you missed it, your elected representatives bowed to intense pressure from phone companies last week and voted to allow them to keep charging whatever they want to protect your privacy.

The California State Senate voted to make it a crime to skim information stored on RFID tags. The Senate voted 36 to 3 to pass the bill, introduced by State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). The bill, SB 31, goes to the California State Assembly.

The House broke for a week¿s recess Thursday without renewing terrorist surveillance authority demanded by President Bush, leading him to warn of risky intelligence gaps while Democrats accused him of reckless fear mongering.