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300,000 Signatures Collected for CA Consumer Privacy Measure


CALIFORNIANS for PRIVACY NOW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
CONTACT:
Tiffany Kelley – 925-560-2614
Michael McCauley – 415-431-6747
300,000 SIGNATURES COLLECTED FOR CONSUMER PRIVACY MEASURE

Momentum is Building for March 2004 Ballot Measure That Gives
Consumers Control Of Their Personal Financial Information

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – While efforts to win financial privacy protections have been stymied in the state legislature, the campaign to qualify a reform measure for the state ballot is picking up steam. Californians for Privacy Now announced today that it has collected 300,000 signatures from registered voters in support of a March ballot measure that would give Californians the strongest financial privacy protections in the nation.
“We are well on our way to collecting the signatures needed to qualify the financial privacy measure for the March 2004 ballot,” said Lenny Goldberg, spokesperson for Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. “Now that the prospects for achieving privacy reform in Sacramento appear slim, we’re finding that citizens are especially eager to support our ballot measure campaign.”
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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