Defending Californians’ Privacy Rights
A refugee family in Turlock, CA– our Privacy Fund Grantee, International Rescue Committee educates refugee clients on their rights under CA, with a specific focus on safegaurding data.
The latest grants from our Consumer Privacy Rights Fund were enabled by the HSBC Card Services, Inc. class action settlement, which alleges HSBC, “violated California law by recording phone calls without notifying consumers” (topclassactions). Many thanks to class counsel, Altshuler Berzon LLP for entrusting the Rose Foundation with these funds and enabling us to award nearly $1.2 million dollars to support 16 exciting projects focusing on cutting edge issues around big data, vaccine passports, police surveillance, and cars which automatically monitor and report wherever you drive. We have highlighted three grantees to showcase some of the exciting projects the settlement money has funded.
International Rescue Committee received $80,000 to use towards its refugee resettlement program in Turlock, CA. This money will fund a project which provides, “a blended model of education, support, and advocacy for refugees who have been or are at risk to become victims of fraud.” IRC’s consumer privacy education aims to inform its clients of their rights under California law, with a specific focus on safeguarding data.
Stop LAPD Spying Coalition was awarded $100,000 for its work dismantling police surveillance and defending privacy. This money will help expand the grantee’s program to achieve their organizational goals of campaign development; community-based research and analysis; and grassroots education and advocacy. The program specifically works with individuals who are “directly impacted by and targeted for policing and surveillance.” Most often, the individuals subjected to this treatment hail from low-income backgrounds and/or communities of color.
The World Privacy Forum received a grant of $100,000 to support its vaccine credentialing project: Privacy Impacts and Pathways Forward. This work is in response to government proposals of “vaccine credentialing systems” or “vaccine passports.” While these measures are aimed to ensure public health, the vague and often misleading language surrounding their implementation poses significant privacy risks to individuals and could undercut people’s willingness to get vaccinated. This grant will be used to give the public a voice in how these systems look and operate so we can boost public health and everyone’s right to privacy.
The Rose Foundation is proud to support these grassroots projects aimed to support and protect the privacy of California communities. To learn more about these programs and other recent Consumer Privacy Rights grantees click here.