"The state's interest is in collecting tolls. Period." Said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. "that's all the data should be used for. I'm pleased to see the Legislature endorse this level of protection."

"The state's interest is in collecting tolls. Period," said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. "That's all the data should be used for. I'm pleased to see the legislation provide this protection."

Jones also is touting his 100 percent rating from the Consumer Federation of California and has introduced a flurry of headline-grabbing bills during the last two Assembly sessions -- a clever use of incumbency to build name ID.

"The changes proposed to the law by Senator Simitian's Senate Bill 1166 enhance identity theft protection for Californians," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California.

...privacy advocates also criticized Brown after he announced he would create an online prescription drug database, in the wake of the death of model Anna Nicole Smith...Zack Kaldveer of the Consumer Federation of California, said the Brown database "raises a whole slew of privacy concerns" when it comes to police access to the records.

Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California stated: "We are disappointed that the governor sided with big business interests and against consumers on the majority of bills that reached his desk."

As the tally of victims grows, so must our commitment to strengthen privacy protections. That's why the Consumer Federation of California and a host of other consumer advocates across the state are asking Gov. Schwarzenegger to sign Sen. Simitian's SB 20.

"Identity theft is a difficult problem to deal with," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California, a consumer rights advocacy organization, which included Simitian's SB 20 as one of its pro-consumer legislative priorities.

"California's law is a model for the nation and provides consumers much more control of their personal financial information than does federal law," said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California.

Perhaps the worst part about this new contract is the fact that it was proposed under the radar, without the public being made aware of it, so citizens don't even have the chance to ask all of the questions they want regarding their privacy and security.

The problem is that the DMV's plan has not been vetted by anyone and no analysis has been made of the potential security and privacy implications, said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California.

The ACLU is fighting the proposal with a handful of other groups, including...the Consumer Federation of California, which says the plan poses "massive threats" to personal privacy. "We see this as sort of creeping Big Brother government, an invasion of people's privacy," said Richard Holober, executive director of the...Consumer Federation of California.

To appease privacy advocates, Google has added a privacy-policy link to its home page. Google had previously said it didn't want to clutter its page.

Opponents counter that the push for AB 2800 exaggerates insurers' woes and piggybacks onto environmental activism to achieve corporate gain. "I think there's always sort of a credibility gap between the industry's claims and its actual performance," said Richard Holober of the CFC.

"This is a victory for California consumers," said Zack Kaldveer of CFC. "It's also a victory for our state's Constitution, which explicitly protects the individual's right to privacy. When it comes to medical prescriptions, there is nothing more private. This bill crossed the line."

A California lawmaker has joined the chorus of voices urging Google Inc. to include a link to its privacy policy on the home page of its Web site, as required by state law.

Zack Kaldveer, a spokesman (for) CFC, says problems could arise if a patient begins taking a medication and has an adverse reaction. Patients could receive notices reminding them to take the medicine even after they have stopped treatment...

In the latest indication of the growing unease in some quarters over Google Inc.'s privacy policies, a coalition of advocacy groups is asking the search company to provide a direct link to its privacy policies on its home page.

"This bill would be a windfall for corporations seeking to track, buy and sell a patient's private medical records," said Zack Kaldveer, spokesman for CFC. "This would represent a significant intrusion by pharmaceutical companies into the privacy of patients.