Tag Archives: Consumer Federation of California
Bill would restore online privacy
by Richard Holober, Los Angeles Daily News guest commentary
CFC Executive Director Richard Holober: “Next week California lawmakers decide whether to protect your privacy when you purchase downloads. Senate Bill 383 would restore privacy rules that a sharply divided state Supreme Court eliminated in a 2013 case involving Apple’s iTunes. Consumer groups support the bill. Tech companies are working furiously to defeat it.” Read More ›
Assembly approves bill to prohibit spying on rental computer customers
[CFC press release] The state Assembly has unanimously approved a measure to protect consumer privacy by restricting the use of spyware on rented computers. Assembly Bill 2667 “outlaws the conduct of companies such as Aaron’s, a large national rent-to-own retail chain, which used secret spyware on rental computers to collect passwords, credit card records and medical records, and to activate webcams which photographed customers engaged in intimate activities in their homes,” according to Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, which sponsored the measure carried by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica. Read More ›
State Auditor vindicates CPUC Intervenor Compensation Program
The California State Auditor released a favorable report – surely to the dismay of AT&T, Verizon and PG&E – that reviewed intervenor compensation awarded to advocacy groups participating. The program provides consumers an effective voice before state regulators when utilities seek unwarranted rate hikes or rules that harm ratepayers. Read More ›