Touted as a bill to protect consumer privacy for online purchases, newly amended AB 844 is a Trojan Horse that actually destroys credit card privacy protections in current California law.

CFC supports AB 25 (Campos), which would extend social media privacy provisions to public sector applicants and employees.

One of the biggest concerns with smartphones in medical care is the potential breach of confidentiality. CFC supports AB 658 (Calderon), which closes the medical-app privacy loophole.

AB 1291 (Lowenthal) would require a company to give users access to personal data the company has on them, and a list of companies the users' personal data was shared with.

CFC is sponsoring SB 383 (Jackson) to restore privacy protection for online credit card purchases, which was recently eliminated by a bad California Supreme Court decision.

Enjoying online privacy can happen only if you know how to shield your online activity from outside predators that want to use your information primarily for financial gain.

Personal information you give to your doctor is shared with insurance companies, pharmacies, researchers, and employers based on specific regulations. The privacy of your health records is protected by federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA.

The Supreme Court has given a gift to online businesses that have demonstrated a callous disregard for customer privacy. The decision is an affront to millions of Californians who care about privacy.

The Consumer Federation of California opposes AB 439 (Skinner) as amended on June 15, 2012. The bill would create numerous loopholes in the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, placing patients at risk of repeated unauthorized release of confidential health information on a massive scale.

CFC Supports SB 1330 to safeguard our right to privacy by reining in the use of license-plate recognition software.

Such a transition also poses significant privacy threats due to so much private data stored in a national network and shared across the country - because in order for the records to be readily available and accessible they would have to be linkable and searchable.

The Do Not Track concept offers a glimpse of where the expected battle lines will likely be drawn: separating those that want privacy, and more control over their own data, versus those that want to profit off violating that privacy, and selling that data.

This rise in behavioral tracking has made it possible for consumer information to be potentially misused, increases the threat of identity theft, and is a fundamental violation of privacy.

The need for such consumer friendly and empowering solutions to this exploding data mining industry and tracking capabilities is clear because we KNOW marketers will stop at NOTHING to ensure they can monitor online behavior...so we can be better profiled by the government and marketed to by advertisers.

In the final analysis, if we include in our definition of "safe" the concept of "safe" from government intrusiveness and corporate profiteering off fear peddling, I would argue these machines make us less secure, not more.

We would do well to - sooner rather than later - recognize the inherent and fundamental value that privacy provides ANY claimed democracy. Without one there can not be the other.

"Google's new privacy announcement is frustrating and a little frightening. Even if the company believes that tracking users across all platforms improves their services, consumers should still have the option to Opt Out—especially the kids and teens who are avid users of YouTube, Gmail and Google Search."

The fourth amendment isn't completely dead after all! While this fundamental right to privacy is admittedly in tatters, the Supreme Court ruled last week that police must have a warrant in order to track someone using a GPS device.

So let's be real clear, creating a database with millions of facial scans and thumbprints raises a host of surveillance, tracking and security question - never mind the cost.

When it comes to the issue of e-health records certainly one question the consumers should ponder is "Where is my data and who has access to it and for what purposes?" Or perhaps even more importantly, "can my private data be traced back to me personally and sold to others?"

For consumers, the best precaution is simple: Routinely check your monthly credit card and bank statements for suspicious charges.

The decision upholding the right of authorities to take DNA from people when they are arrested only partially assures that the California DNA collection program will survive court challenges.

All but seven states have proposed or adopted legislation relating to the domestic use of drones, or unmanned aerial systems, in domestic airspace, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Now, at the invitation of the Aerospace States Association, EFF has rung in with the three crucial elements that all drone legislation must contain to balance privacy rights with free-speech concerns.

Law enforcement officials can take routine DNA samples from those they arrest, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday. A 5-4 majority held that doing so is little different from taking fingerprints, and therefore does not intrude on a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights.

California would take its first steps to protect the public from the increased use of unmanned aircraft under a bill approved by the state Senate.

The California Senate should approve consumer online privacy protection legislation to be fair to consumers and to brick-and-mortar stores struggling to compete against online businesses.

The days of doctor/patient privacy are dwindling as more agencies and companies wield technology to peer into your medical records.

Under California law, genetic snooping is perfectly legal. Now, legislators are considering a bill that would require a donor's consent to collect, analyze or share genetic information.

Online merchants are now free to use information to build customer profiles for marketing or for sale to third parties who may use this information for any purpose.

Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) has announced that the California Right to Know Act (AB 1291) will not be voted on this year but she will keep working to pass it next year.

In California, with the highest unemployment rate, Republican Jeff Gorell and Democrat Steven Bradford presented a privacy bill that guards against drone surveillance, but they are pushing a bill to provide tax breaks to drone manufacturers.

How happy are you with the fact that a long list of Internet companies know so much about you - and are using that information to pad their pockets?

Silicon Valley tech, banks and other powerful industries are mounting a quiet but forceful campaign to kill an Internet privacy bill that would give consumers the right to know how their personal information is being used.

Your online life may not seem worth tracking, but the data you generate is a rich trove of information that says more about you than you realize.

Employers are frequently using monitoring software to make their employees more productive at work...although the Constitution speaks of a "reasonable" expectation of privacy, this is not applicable at private employers.

Two ticket-selling giants have brought an industry turf war to Sacramento, with both sides claiming to represent fans' rights as they compete over billions in proceeds from concerts and sporting events.

Internet firms push back on California proposal requiring they disclose what has been done with users' information.

A technology long deployed on the battlefield could be coming to a farm, newspaper or police station near you.

Consumer Watchdog on the various ways current and upcoming vehicle electronics are collecting and possibly selling your information, including driving habits, frequently used routes, and what radio stations you listen to.

People are used to being watched when shopping. Cookies track our every move online, and salespeople follow us around high-end stores. But many retailers are taking spying to a new level.