Egregious and dishonorable practices by the business community: Under existing law, consumers must respond to the written privacy policy notifications they receive from banks and other financial companies completely in order to keep companies from sharing their confidential data with other firms. That means that between now and July 1, the deadline set by law, every mailing a consumer receives from a bank, insurance company or security brokerage must be reviewed carefully for a privacy statement and a response form to sign and send back.