Consumer Federation of California

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Feature Issue

Financial Privacy | CFC Response | What you can do

Financial Privacy for $ale? Protect Your Privacy

Most banks and credit card companies share or sell your intimate details to other businesses - details like how much you earn, how much you have in the bank and investments, how much you spend on different products, how much you owe, and other personal information.

Financial service companies make millions peddling our private information, to businesses that then profile us and target us for sales pitches - usually for products we don't want, often sold deceptively when we're trying to have a peaceful dinner with our families.

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CFC Response

The Consumer Federation of California is fighting for a law (SB 773 by Senator Jackie Speier) that would let you - the consumer - control whether or not your personal information is sold or shared. The big banks hate SB 773. At last count they've spent almost Five Million Dollars to stop us from taking control of your information away from them.

So far the big banks are winning. SB 773 died on the floor of the Democratic -controlled State Assembly last year, after Governor Gray Davis asked the Assembly Speaker and other "Business Democrats" to kill SB 773.

The banks can only win this fight if we let them. Public opinion polls consistently show that over 80% of voters support strong financial privacy laws. Support runs across the political spectrum - Democratic, Republican and Independent voters all want their financial privacy protected. The people will win if enough consumers speak out and tell Governor Davis and the California State Assembly to enact SB 773.

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What you can do

That's where you come in. Please contact your legislator and the governor today and tell them to Support SB 773. We must get the Assembly to put the bill on Governor Davis' desk before the end of August 2002.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE - CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKER HERE!

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