Beth Givens is founder and executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), established 20 years ago in 1992. The PRC is a nonprofit consumer information and advocacy program with a nationwide focus, and is located in San Diego, CA (
www.privacyrights.org).
Givens developed the PRC's Fact Sheet series as author and/or editor. These extensive guides, which now number more than 50, cover a wide variety of topics and are found on the organization's website. She is author of
The Privacy Rights Handbook, one of the earlier books on informational privacy (1997). She is co-author of
Privacy Piracy: A Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft (1999). She contributed the encyclopedia entries on identity theft for three encyclopedias, including
World Book (2004). Givens contributed a chapter on privacy rights to the 2006 book,
RFID: Applications, Security and Privacy. She co-authored a chapter on identity theft in Protection, Security and Safeguards (2nd ed. expected, mid-2012)
Givens and her organization represent the interests of consumers in public policy proceedings at the state and federal levels (e.g., California Legislature, U.S. Congress, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services). The PRC's many written contributions to such public proceedings are posted on its website. Givens has participated in many task forces and commissions on privacy. She is often interviewed by the media. Prior to her work as a consumer advocate, she was a librarian specializing in library network development and resource sharing. She is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.