200,000 Signatures Gathered On Consumer Privacy Measure So Far

CALIFORNIANS for PRIVACY NOW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 16, 2003

CONTACT:
Michael McCauley:415-412-4642
Consumers Union West Coast Regional Office
Tiffany Kelley: 925-560-2614

200,000 SIGNATURES GATHERED ON CONSUMER PRIVACY MEASURE SO FAR

March 2004 Ballot Measure Aims to Give Consumers Control
Of Their Personal Financial Information

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The campaign to win Californians the strongest financial privacy protections in the nation continues to gain momentum. Californians for Privacy Now announced today that it has collected 200,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify its privacy measure for the March 2004 ballot.

"It's clear from the response our campaign is getting so far that voters are eager to strengthen California's financial privacy laws," said Michael Moreno, AARP State Legislative Representative. "We are confident that this initiative will easily qualify for the ballot and will enjoy broad support among California voters."

In order to qualify the measure for the March 2004 election, the campaign must collect at least 373,816 valid signatures of registered California voters by August 22. Approximately 1,000 signature gatherers are circulating the consumer privacy ballot measure petition across the state.

If passed, the initiative will require financial institutions to obtain a consumer's explicit consent before selling or sharing their personal information with affiliates or third party companies for any purpose other than to complete a transaction initiated by the consumer. Current weak privacy laws offer consumers very little to control over how their personal information is used by financial institutions and leave consumers vulnerable to identity theft, aggressive marketing practices and fraud.

You can download a copy of the ballot measure petition and learn more about the initiative at: www.californiaprivacy.org. The proposed ballot measure is supported by a coalition of organizations, including AARP, CalPIRG, Consumer Federation of California, Consumers Union, E-LOAN, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and American Civil Liberties Union.

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View Files Sorted By Office: Consumers Union OPI, New York - Washington DC Office
West Coast Regional Office - Southwest Regional Office - Consumer Policy Institute

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