• Data Protection Fact #1

    In 2015, the FTC received 490,220 identity theft complaints, a 47% increase over 2014. [FTC]

  • Data Protection Fact #4

    In 2013 the cost of credit card fraud in the United States grew to $7,100,000,000, at least $500,000,000 was attributable to record-breaking data breaches at major retailers. [Business Insider]

  • Data Protection Fact #13

    91% of American adults say that consumers have lost control over how personal information is collected and used by companies. [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #23

    "A majority of the U.S. public believes changes in law could make a difference in protecting privacy - especially when it comes to policies on retention of their data." [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #10

    Acxiom has information on 700,000,000 consumers worldwide and over 3,000 data segments for nearly every U.S. consumer. [FTC]

  • Data Protection Fact #15

    81% of parents are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their child's online behavior. [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #25

    Last year, the Office of Personnel Management lost 21.5 million records, 5 million digitized fingerprint files, and the SF-86, the sensitive background forms for cleared federal employees. [OPM]

  • Data Protection Fact #5

    Identity theft and credit fraud also produce long- term damage to consumer credit and requires expensive monitoring services. [FTC]

  • Data Protection Fact #18

    93% of Americans believe it is important to be able to share confidential information with someone you trust [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #8

    Identity theft costs American consumers more than $24,000,000,000, 10 billion more than the losses attributed to all other property crimes, including burglary, automobile theft, and theft. [DOJ]

  • Data Protection Fact #7

    More than 60,000,000 Home Depot customers card numbers were exposed due to a data security failure. [WSJ]

  • Data Protection Fact #19

    Just 6% of American adults say they are "very confident" that government agencies can keep their records private and secure, while another 25% say they are "somewhat confident." [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #17

    93% of Americans believe it is important to control personal information [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #6

    About 110,000,000 people had sensitive information stolen from Target. [Computer World]

  • Data Protection Fact #14

    64% of Americans believe government should do more to regulate Internet advertisers [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #26

    Approximately 17.6 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year. [BJS]

  • Data Protection Fact #24

    61% of American want a "Right to be Forgotten" [Software Advice]

  • Data Protection Fact #2

    7% of all Americans over the age of 16 suffer from identity theft [DOJ]

  • Data Protection Fact #16

    "Americans exhibited a deep lack of faith in organizations of all kinds, public or private, in protecting the personal information they collect." [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #9

    Data breaches in 2015 exposed more than 140,000,000 records containing personally identifiable information. [ID Theft Research Center]

  • Data Protection Fact #22

    "86% of internet users have taken steps online to remove or mask their digital footprints, but many say they would like to do more or are unaware of tools they could use" [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #20

    65% of American adults believe there are not adequate limits on the telephone and internet data that the government collects. [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #21

    74% of Americans say "it is 'very important' to them that they be in control of who can get information about them, and 65% say it is 'very important' to them to control what information is collected about them." [Pew]

  • Data Protection Fact #11

    "Although the total impact of inaccurate reports, data breaches and identity theft in the United States is staggering, the ability for an individual to prove harm is particularly difficult." [EPIC]

  • Data Protection Fact #27

    67% of Europeans are worried about having no control over the information they provide online, and over 60% do not trust online businesses, or phone companies and internet service providers. [EC]

  • Data Protection Fact #29

    "Missouri is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by Connecticut and Florida." [FTC]

  • Data Protection Fact #28

    In 2015, "tax- or wage-related fraud (45%) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by credit card fraud (16%), phone or utilities fraud (10%), and bank fraud (6%). Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were loan fraud (4%) and employment-related fraud (3%)." [FTC]

  • Data Protection Fact #12

    "The harms caused by privacy violations are not easily quantified, though the consequences of a lost job, the weeks spent fixing an inaccurate credit report, or changing credit cards are very real." [EPIC]

  • Data Protection Fact #3

    18% of adults have had their personal information stolen. [Pew]



DATA PROTECTION PLATFORM

Notice is not enough

Privacy is a right not a preference

If you can't protect it, don't collect it

Reduce identity theft and financial fraud

Enforce privacy safeguards

Minimize collection of personal information by companies and government agencies

Investigate the misuse of personal data

No national ID system

End mass surveillance by the NSA and the police

Update state and federal privacy laws

Ensure effective oversight and accountability



QUESTIONS TO ASK THE CANDIDATES

Do you favor strong encryption?

Do you support comprehensive privacy legislation?

Do you support updates to the federal communications privacy law?

Do you favor regulations to limit surveillance by drones?

Do you oppose law enforcement efforts to require encryption backdoors?

Do you favor an end to bulk surveillance of communications?

Will you crack down on identity theft, financial fraud, and data breaches?

Do you support establishment of a new privacy agency to help ensure privacy rights are protected?

Do you support US ratification of the international privacy convention?