The following document is from the PRIVACY Forum Archive at Vortex Technology, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A. For direct web access to the PRIVACY Forum and PRIVACY Forum Radio, including detailed information, archives, keyword searching, and related facilities, please visit the PRIVACY Forum via the web URL: http://www.vortex.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Note from the PRIVACY Forum Moderator: The following information has been provided to the PRIVACY Forum by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC). In some cases, the items have been reformatted locally for online presentation. Index descriptions for FTP/listserv/gopher access have been chosen locally. Other than such formatting and index descriptions, all information below in this file is the responsibility of the PRC, and any questions regarding that information should be directed to the PRC at: Phone: 619-298-3396 (800-773-7748 Calif. only) Fax: 619-260-4753 E-mail: prc@teetot.acusd.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Fact Sheet #1 ABOUT THE CLEARINGHOUSE Privacy has been hailed a major consumer issue of the 1990s. Four out of five respondents to a 1992 Louis Harris poll expressed concern about threats to their personal privacy. At the heart of the privacy debate are telecommunications technologies. These emerging technologies present consumers with a double-edged sword, offering exciting new services while at the same time posing a potentially serious threat to personal privacy. Californians now have a unique opportunity to learn ways to protect their personal privacy. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse offers a toll-free hotline for consumers to call to ask questions about technology-related privacy issues and to register complaints about privacy abuses. Operational since November 1992, the hotline has received nearly 10,000 calls from California consumers in its first nine months of operation. The Clearinghouse is a nonprofit consumer education service funded by the California Public Utilities Commission through its Telecommunications Education Trust. It is administered by the University of San Diego School of Law's Center for Public Interest Law. Clearinghouse services include: o A toll-free 800 number for California consumers to report privacy abuses and request information on ways to protect their privacy, 1-800-773-7748. Assistance is available in English and Spanish. o A series of free fact sheets on privacy issues, available in English and Spanish. o A computer bulletin board accessible via Internet and by direct modem connection which includes the texts of all fact sheets, updates on state and federal privacy legislation, and other information. o Publication of a policy report that analyzes the data gathered by the project (available December 1993). Privacy-related issues addressed by the Clearinghouse include: o Direct mail and telephone marketing. o Cordless and cellular phones. o How to handle harassing and other unwanted phone calls (including information on new phone company services--Call Trace, Call Block and Call Return). o Credit reporting. o Wiretapping and eavesdropping. o Workplace monitoring issues. o Medical records privacy. o Social security numbers. o Automatic number identification (ANI) for 800 and 900 numbers. o Access to personal records collected by government agencies. o Federal and state privacy protection laws and regulations. ABOUT THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LAW Created in 1980, the University of San Diego School of Law's Center for Public Interest Law (CPIL) serves as an academic center of research, learning, and advocacy in administrative law. It teaches direct clinic skills in public interest law to students at the USD School of Law; represents the interests of the unorganized and underrepresented in state regulatory proceedings; and attempts to make the regulatory functions of state government more efficient and visible by serving as a public monitor. CPIL focuses its efforts on the study of an extremely powerful, yet often overlooked, level of government--state regulatory agencies. Staffed by public interest attorneys, lobbyists, and law student interns, CPIL publishes the quarterly California Regulatory Law Reporter, the only journal in the nation which comprehensively covers the activities of 70 agencies and 25 public interest organizations. Since 1990 CPIL has received funding from the Telecommunications Education Trust (TET), established by the California Public Utilities Commission. From 1990 to June 1993, CPIL administered the inside wiring consumer education program which informed California consumers about changes in telephone repair and installation services since the break-up of AT&T. The TET-funded Privacy Rights Clearinghouse began in July 1992. Director of CPIL is Robert C. Fellmeth. Fellmeth also directs the Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI) which was established by CPIL in 1989. CAI advocates in court, before government agencies, in the legislature, and to the public on behalf of children. CPIL Supervising Attorney and editor of CPIL publications is Julianne B. D'Angelo. Beth Givens is program manager for CPIL's telecommunications projects. CPIL maintains offices in San Diego, Sacramento, and San Francisco, California. ___________________________________________ For more information about the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, contact Beth Givens, Project Director, 619-260-4806. October 1992 Revised July 1993