FC: Judge imposes strict limits on credit reporting firms

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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See also:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,24284,00.html
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"Judge Upholds Tough New Restrictions on Sales of Certain Personal-Credit
Data"
Wall Street Journal (05/08/01) P. A28; Simpson, Glenn R.

Effective July 1, consumer data firms must get permission from
consumers before selling their credit data, including names,
addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers, according
to an April 30 ruling from Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle.  The
judge's ruling clarifies a vague passage in the 1999
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that places restrictions on the trade of
"personally identifiable financial information."  Huvelle's
ruling affirms the government's position that the header and all
other parts of a credit report fall under the scope of this
passage.  The credit industry had been arguing that names,
addresses, and other personal data did not qualify as "personally
identifiable financial information."  Indeed, Huvelle said that
the passage was ambiguous but ruled nonetheless that lawmakers
had crafted the bill to provide "especially broad privacy
protections."  Direct Marketing Association spokesman Lou Mastria
warned that the ruling would hit marketers hard in the pocket
book.




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