Five New House Bills Highlight Privacy Concerns

Legislation potentially prohibiting direct marketers, list compilers, financial institutions, credit grantors, state and local authorities from disclosing or using a person’s Social Security as a identifier has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Social Security numbers, under The Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act (HR-220), sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), could only be used for Social Security and Internal Revenue Service purposes. The measure would prohibit the use of Social Security numbers by state and local governments and for any commercial purpose. It would also prohibit the federal government from establishing any kind of national identity card.

That bill, along with the Misappropriation of Collections of Information Act, sponsored by Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), are the two proposals, out of five personal privacy protection bills to be introduced in the House over the last three weeks, that would have the most effect on direct marketers.

Coble’s bill (HR-354), would prohibit the commercial use of compiled data by a third party without permission. The other bills deal with protecting personal financial records, disclosure of subscriber data collected by Internet providers, and invading a person’s privacy by stalking or entering private property to tape or record them and sell or attempt to sell that tape or recording.

Jan Davis, group vice president and general manager of Performance Data, a Chicago-based information compiler, said she was concerned about the Paul and Coble bills because of the effect they would have on her firm’s activities.

Most insurance companies and credit bureaus, she explained “use Social Security numbers as a hard-code to identify consumers and without access to that number, it will be more difficult to definitely identify” someone, particularly if they have the same or similar name. Coble’s bill, she added “would affect those companies that develop lists from telephone books” because it would legislatively overturn a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that compiling data from telephone white pages did not constitute a copyright infringement.

The Direct Marketing Association is “looking at the five bills carefully to see if any of them have a negative effect on direct marketing,” according to Richard A. Barton, its senior vice president for Congressional matters, who said “so far we have not taken a position on any of them.”

For years, he said, the DMA has urged its members not to include Social Security numbers in any lists they may rent or sell.

The Financial Privacy Act, (HR-30) sponsored by Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), would prohibit financial institutions and their employees from disclosing a customer’s financial records, but would not supercede tougher state laws.

Internet service providers would be prohibited by The Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act, (HR-313), sponsored by Rep. Bruce Vento (D-MN), from disclosing personal information about their customers without written permission. The Personal Privacy Protection Act (HR-97), sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), would make it a federal crime to stalk a person, enter onto private property to tape or record them then attempt to sell the recording to someone.