Petition Press Release

READ THE PETITION PRESS RELEASE
READ THE FTC PETITION

www.privacyrightsnow.com

For Immediate Release:
Contact:
J.C. Pierce 516-982-9134

COALITION FILES PETITION WITH FTC ON
PRIVACY STATEMENTS:

"We want clarity, not deliberate confusion."

    -- Hundreds of National Groups Support Petition
    -- Consumers can STILL "Opt-Out"--here's how
    -- Petitioners Available for Interviews
    -- Read full petition at http://www.privacyrightsnow.com/
    -- Ralph Nader quote

     WHICH STATEMENT IS "CLEAR and CONSPICUOUS"?

"If you prefer that we do not disclose nonpublic personal information about
you to nonaffiliated third parties, you may opt out of those    disclosures;
that is, you may direct us not to make those disclosures (other than
disclosures permitted by law)."

or

"WE ARE ALLOWED TO DISCLOSE YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION TO OTHER COMPANIES UNLESS YOU TELL US NOT TO. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO PREVENT US FROM DISCLOSING YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION TO CERTAIN COMPANIES."

IF YOU LIKE THE SECOND STATEMENT, you'll love the petition hand-delivered
today, July 26th, by leading consumer groups representing over 290
nonpartisan organizations and consumer leaders.

OUR VERY DIVERSE GROUP--ranging from Ralph Nader, the Consumer Federation of
America and Consumers Union to JunkBusters and The Consumer Project on
Technology--is asking the FTC to require companies to use simple, easily
understandable language in future "opt-out" messages mailed to consumers.

BACKGROUND: COMPANIES ARE REQUIRED to notify consumers before sharing
certain information. But, as millions of consumers know, those notifications
were fatally flawed:

"MOST OF THESE NOTICES ARE SO BAD that even people with a lot of legal
training have trouble reading them," says David Vladeck of Public Citizen's
Litigation Group, drafter of our petition.

THAT'S IF THE CONSUMER CAN EVEN READ THE TYPE. Many notices were printed in
8 point type--like one of our examples above.

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THIS OBVIOUS ATTEMPT to discourage consumers from
opting out of information sharing? Less than one half of one percent of all
consumers responded to the Opt-out notices, according to the American Bankers
Association, and 63 percent of consumers did not read any privacy notices.
Did you?

IN CONTRAST, OVER 145,000 CONSUMERS IN TEN DAYS downloaded our "Opt-Out" form
letter. You can see that letter at http://www.privacyRightsNow.com

OUR PETITION OUTLINES PROBLEMS WITH THE CURRENT NOTICES:

-- Many notices are--obviously--not "clear and conspicuous," as required by
the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

-- Many notices obviously do not "call attention to the nature and
significance of the information contained..." as required by the FTC.

-- The notices were "written by lawyers trained in the art of obfuscation,
not by mass communication experts trained to express ideas clearly." Notices
"bury their already opaque interpretations of the law and company practices
beneath self-serving...commitments to protecting privacy."

-- Opting-Out has been deliberately designed to be difficult.   For
instance, Chevron Credit Bank only offers a telephone number for opting out
between the hours of 4:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. East Coast time only on business
days. Could they find a more inconvenient time slot?

-- Opt-out explanations invariably appear at the end of the notices.
Therefore, before a consumer can learn how to opt out, he or she must "trudge
through up to ten pages of fine print."

OUR ETITION ASKS FOR UNAMBIGUOUS AND CLEAR REMEDIES: Our petition asks that
consumers have meaningful opportunities to exercise their opt-out rights.

Specifically:

1. We request that the FTC require a statement and format like this one at
the beginning of each opt-out notice:

WE ARE ALLOWED TO DISCLOSE YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION TO OTHER COMPANIES UNLESS
YOU TELL US NOT TO. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO PREVENT US FROM DISCLOSING YOUR
PRIVATE INFORMATION TO CERTAIN COMPANIES.

BUT IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND WITHIN 30 DAYS, WE MAY BEGIN SHARING YOUR
INFORMATION. YOU WILL STILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL US TO STOP AT ANY TIME.

BUT ONCE WE HAVE SHARED INFORMATION WITH OTHER COMPANIES, WE CANNOT GET IT
BACK FROM THEM OR STOP THEM FROM USING IT.

2. We request that all notices include a detachable postcard, an email
address, and a toll-free number for opting out. We believe the wording
concerning the actual opt-out procedure should be uniform.

3. We suggest that companies should be required to clearly and simply define
key words such as "AFFILIATE" and NON-AFFILIATE" and "PRIVATE INFORMATION."

KEY INFORMATION FOR YOUR AUDIENCE:

1. THE PETITIONERS STRONGLY BELIEVE IMPROVING CURRENT OPT-OUT PROCEDURES IS
ONLY A STOPGAP MEASURE. Real privacy protection will only come when "Opt-In"
legislation is passed.

Opt-in programs mean a company must automatically assume their customers do
not want their information shared. The current Opt Out program assumes all
customers want their information shared. But "Until Congress passes real
privacy protections, including Opt-In, Federal regulators need to do a better
job of enforcing Opt-Out," says Ed Mierzwinski of U.S. Public Interest
Research Group."

2. ITS NOT TOO LATE FOR CONSUMERS TO OPT-OUT OF INFORMATION SHARING. Though
the law required all companies to send their opt-out notices by July 1,
consumers CAN OPT OUT AT ANY TIME. Our web site,   http://www.privacyrightsnow.com/">http://www.privacyRightsNow.com ,
provides a standard opt-out letter which can be sent to any company.

3. Consumers can encourage the FTC and their representatives to help us in
this fight for their privacy. Our web site, http://www.privacyRightsNow.com
provides several "take action" steps.

4. Our web site has numerous and valuable links to key nonprofit privacy web
sites. You might want to visit http://www.privacyrightsnow.com/" yourself.

RALPH NADER, one of our petitioners, sums up the message most of us hope our
Petition sends to the regulators: "It is imperative that the federal
financial regulatory authorities act immediately to prevent the erosion of
privacy by chicanery."

ANY QUESTIONS? We'll be glad to help. You can call or email me directly, or
you can call any of the following key representatives of our sponsoring
groups:

Contact:

J.C. PIERCE, COORDINATOR FOR THIS PRESS RELEASE
ISLANDS304@AOL.COM
516-982-9134

Remar Sutton 404-229-5094

Jake Lewis (Ralph Nader’s office) 202-387-8030

USPIRG, 202-546-9707

Electronic Privacy Information Center 202-483-1140

Travis Plunkett, CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA 202-387-6121

David Vladeck, Public Citizen, 202-588-1000

Beth Givens, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse 619-298-3396