Home : Privacy & Technology : Consumer Privacy

For centuries, bankers used to pride themselves on being discreet and confidential about their customers? business.  But today that tradition of discretion and confidentiality is breaking down, and consumers? financial privacy is in a sorry state indeed.

The problem lies not just with banks, but also with insurance companies and many other corporations who gather details about the financial lives of Americans, and increasingly see those details as a valuable resource to be mined for profit.  more...

• California Bill Signed Into Law Today; ACLU Urges Other States to Follow Suit (08/27/2003)
• ACLU Hails Milestone as California Legislature Enacts Toughest Financial Privacy Protections in the Nation (08/20/2003)
• ACLU Congratulates People of North Dakota For Defending Their Privacy (06/12/2003)
• ACLU Asks Attorney General Ashcroft to Enforce Driver's License Information Privacy Law in Florida (04/08/2003)
• ACLU, Eagle Forum and Ralph Nader Agree: 21st Century Privacy Problems Require 21st Century Privacy Protections (10/13/1999)
• ACLU Says that Banks Continue to Spy on Customers  (04/20/1999)

Other Links

• The ChoicePoint ID Theft Case: What it Means
• Text of ACLU letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft asking him to enforce driver's license privacy law in Florida
• North Dakota radio ads against measure 2 (to preserve opt-out rules)
• "POP-ing the Bankers" by Jim Hightower, The Nation, July 22, 2002
• "Will Voters Opt for 'Opting In'?" by Jane Black, Business Week Online, July 11, 2002
• Consumers Union
• EPIC page on consumer profiling
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
• U.S. PIRG fact sheet on Gramm-Leach

MCLU Urges Court to Preserve PUC Privacy Complaint (03/20/2009)
Today, the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation expressed its opposition to efforts by the federal government to terminate the Maine PUC's telephone customer investigation. The State of Maine, along with Missouri, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Vermont, are fighting to keep alive their authority to protect phone customer privacy through reasonable regulation. The Maine case stems from a complaint brought on May 8, 2006 by James D. Cowie and other Maine telephone customers asking the Maine Public Utilities Commission to investigate whether their privacy rights were violated by Verizon.

Fusion Centers Part of Incipient Domestic Intelligence System, ACLU Warns (07/29/2008)
WASHINGTON – The nation’s growing network of “fusion centers” is part of an incipient de facto domestic intelligence system, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Today the ACLU released a report detailing spying on Maryland peace demonstrators, a mysterious domestic-spying scandal at a California military base and other recent incidents, confirming that its warnings about fusion centers were coming true.

New “Fusion Centers” Must Be Open, Carefully Monitored and Subject to Restraints, ACLU Says In New Report (12/12/2007)
WASHINGTON – New institutions now emerging in American life – “fusion centers” – are raising many questions about privacy and government openness and must be carefully bounded and monitored to ensure that they remain a legitimate and effective law enforcement tool, according to a new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

MCLU Urges State Legislators to Safeguard Personal Information (03/16/2006)
PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Civil Liberties Union today urged Maine’s legislators to protect Mainers’ privacy when considering two bills in work sessions this week.

ACLU Applauds Senate Review of Identity Theft; Recent Data-Theft Scandals Highlight Need for Better Oversight (03/10/2005)
WASHINGTON - A key Senate committee should be supported for examining identity theft and the security of sensitive information at a time when most private information of millions of Americans has become vulnerable to theft and abuse, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

Transferring Privacy: The Transfer of Passenger Records and the Abdication of Privacy Protection (02/02/2004)

Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society (01/15/2003)

FOIA Request from the ACLU to the TSA Concerning JetBlue's Privacy Violations (09/19/2003)
FOIA Request from the ACLU to the TSA in reference to JetBlue's unauthorized release of personal passenger information

Doe v. Chao amicus (08/25/2003)
Amicus brief by ACLU and other groups in case of Doe v. Chao on whether a plaintiff suing under the Privacy Act of 1974 for wrongful disclosure of the social security number must show actual damages to recover the statutory damages of $1,000.

FAQ on ChoicePoint (03/10/2005)
The ChoicePoint ID Theft Case: What it Means

Comments arguing against HMIS (09/22/2003)
Comments by EPIC and other groups arguing against the Homeless Management Information System proposed to electronically track homeless persons.

Letter to the House on Financial Privacy and the International Money Laundering Act (07/13/2000)

Coalition Letter on Financial Privacy (05/09/2000)

Coalition Letter to Conferees on Financial Privacy (10/19/1999)

DHS privacy report on JetBlue (02/20/2004)
Homeland Security Report on Release of Passenger Data by JetBlue

ACLU Letter to the FTC Regarding JetBlue's Unauthorized Release of Passenger Data (09/23/2003)

Feature on JetBlue's Unauthorized Release of Passenger Data (09/23/2003)
Feature - JetBlue gave away the personal information of five million of its passengers in September of 2002 to a defense contractor working on a project akin to CAPPS II.

Radio spot #2: A new law... (09/11/2003)

Radio spot #3: If you think... (09/11/2003)