I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 122 

To amend title 18, United States Code, and the Social Security Act to 

limit the misuse of Social Security numbers, to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, and the Social Security Act to limit the misuse of Social Security numbers, 

to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Protecting the Privacy of Social Security Numbers Act 

6 of 2009’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers. 

Sec. 4. Application of prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers to public records. 

Sec. 5. Rulemaking authority of the Attorney General. 

Sec. 6. Treatment of Social Security numbers on government documents. 

Sec. 7. Limits on personal disclosure of a Social Security number for consumer 

transactions. 

Sec. 8. Extension of civil monetary penalties for misuse of a Social Security 

number. 

Sec. 9. Criminal penalties for the misuse of a Social Security number. 

Sec. 10. Civil actions and civil penalties. 

Sec. 11. Federal injunctive authority. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) The inappropriate display, sale, or purchase 

6 of Social Security numbers has contributed to a 

7 growing range of illegal activities, including fraud, 

8 identity theft, and, in some cases, stalking and other 

9 violent crimes. 

10 (2) While financial institutions, health care pro11 viders, and other entities have often used Social Se12 curity numbers to confirm the identity of an indi13 vidual, the general display to the public, sale, or pur14 chase of these numbers has been used to commit 

15 crimes, and also can result in serious invasions of in16 dividual privacy. 

17 (3) The Federal Government requires virtually 

18 every individual in the United States to obtain and 

19 maintain a Social Security number in order to pay 


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1 taxes, to qualify for Social Security benefits, or to 

2 seek employment. An unintended consequence of 

3 these requirements is that Social Security numbers 

4 have become one of the tools that can be used to fa5 cilitate crime, fraud, and invasions of the privacy of 

6 the individuals to whom the numbers are assigned. 

7 Because the Federal Government created and main8 tains this system, and because the Federal Govern9 ment does not permit individuals to exempt them10 selves from those requirements, it is appropriate for 

11 the Federal Government to take steps to stem the 

12 abuse of Social Security numbers. 

13 (4) The display, sale, or purchase of Social Se14 curity numbers in no way facilitates uninhibited, ro15 bust, and wide-open public debate, and restrictions 

16 on such display, sale, or purchase would not affect 

17 public debate. 

18 (5) No one should seek to profit from the dis19 play, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers in 

20 circumstances that create a substantial risk of phys21 ical, emotional, or financial harm to the individuals 

22 to whom those numbers are assigned. 

23 (6) Consequently, this Act provides each indi24 vidual that has been assigned a Social Security num25 ber some degree of protection from the display, sale, 


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1 and purchase of that number in any circumstance 

2 that might facilitate unlawful conduct. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, SALE, OR PUR4 CHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 

7 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

8 section 1028A the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase 

10 of Social Security numbers 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) DISPLAY.—The term ‘display’ means to in13 tentionally communicate or otherwise make available 

14 (on the Internet or in any other manner) to the gen15 eral public an individual’s Social Security number. 

16 ‘‘(2) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 

17 individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co18 operative, association, or any other entity. 

19 ‘‘(3) PURCHASE.—The term ‘purchase’ means 

20 providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in 

21 exchange for a Social Security number. 

22 ‘‘(4) SALE.—The term ‘sale’ means obtaining, 

23 directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 

24 for a Social Security number. 


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1 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

2 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

3 Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

4 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

5 Samoa, and any territory or possession of the 

6 United States. 

7 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON DISPLAY.—Except as provided 

8 in section 1028C, no person may display any individual’s 

9 Social Security number to the general public without the 

10 affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

11 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON SALE OR PURCHASE.—Except 

12 as otherwise provided in this section, no person may sell 

13 or purchase any individual’s Social Security number with14 out the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

15 ‘‘(d) PREREQUISITES FOR CONSENT.—In order for 

16 consent to exist under subsection (b) or (c), the person 

17 displaying or seeking to display, selling or attempting to 

18 sell, or purchasing or attempting to purchase, an individ19 ual’s Social Security number shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) inform the individual of the general pur21 pose for which the number will be used, the types of 

22 persons to whom the number may be available, and 

23 the scope of transactions permitted by the consent; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) obtain the affirmatively expressed consent 

2 (electronically or in writing) of the individual. 

3 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be 

4 construed to prohibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase 

5 of a Social Security number— 

6 ‘‘(1) required, authorized, or excepted under 

7 any Federal law; 

8 ‘‘(2) for a public health purpose, including the 

9 protection of the health or safety of an individual in 

10 an emergency situation; 

11 ‘‘(3) for a national security purpose; 

12 ‘‘(4) for a law enforcement purpose, including 

13 the investigation of fraud and the enforcement of a 

14 child support obligation; 

15 ‘‘(5) if the display, sale, or purchase of the 

16 number is for a use occurring as a result of an inter17 action between businesses, governments, or business 

18 and government (regardless of which entity initiates 

19 the interaction), including, but not limited to— 

20 ‘‘(A) the prevention of fraud (including 

21 fraud in protecting an employee’s right to em22 ployment benefits); 

23 ‘‘(B) the facilitation of credit checks or the 

24 facilitation of background checks of employees, 

25 prospective employees, or volunteers; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the retrieval of other information 

2 from other businesses, commercial enterprises, 

3 government entities, or private nonprofit orga4 nizations; or 

5 ‘‘(D) when the transmission of the number 

6 is incidental to, and in the course of, the sale, 

7 lease, franchising, or merger of all, or a portion 

8 of, a business; 

9 ‘‘(6) if the transfer of such a number is part of 

10 a data matching program involving a Federal, State, 

11 or local agency; or 

12 ‘‘(7) if such number is required to be submitted 

13 as part of the process for applying for any type of 

14 Federal, State, or local government benefit or pro15 gram; 

16 except that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

17 as permitting a professional or commercial user to display 

18 or sell a Social Security number to the general public. 

19 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall pro20 hibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of Social Secu21 rity numbers as permitted under title V of the Gramm22 Leach-Bliley Act, or for the purpose of affiliate sharing 

23 as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, except 

24 that no entity regulated under such Acts may make Social 

25 Security numbers available to the general public, as may 


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1 be determined by the appropriate regulators under such 

2 Acts. For purposes of this subsection, the general public 

3 shall not include affiliates or unaffiliated third-party busi4 ness entities as may be defined by the appropriate regu5 lators.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

7 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 1028 the following: 

‘‘1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers.’’. 

10 (b) STUDY; REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

12 conduct a study and prepare a report on all of the 

13 uses of Social Security numbers permitted, required, 

14 authorized, or excepted under any Federal law. The 

15 report shall include a detailed description of the uses 

16 allowed as of the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 impact of such uses on privacy and data security, 

18 and shall evaluate whether such uses should be con19 tinued or discontinued by appropriate legislative ac20 tion. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 

23 shall report to Congress findings under this sub24 section. The report shall include such recommendaVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:55 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H122.IH H122

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1 tions for legislation based on criteria the Attorney 

2 General determines to be appropriate. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 

5 after the date on which the final regulations promulgated 

6 under section 5 are published in the Federal Register. 

7 SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, 

8 SALE, OR PURCHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY 

9 NUMBERS TO PUBLIC RECORDS. 

10 (a) PUBLIC RECORDS EXCEPTION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 

12 United States Code (as amended by section 3(a)(1)), 

13 is amended by inserting after section 1028B the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘§ 1028C. Display, sale, or purchase of public records 

16 containing Social Security numbers 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 

18 record’ means any governmental record that is made avail19 able to the general public. 

20 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub21 sections (c), (d), and (e), section 1028B shall not apply 

22 to a public record. 

23 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTERNET OR IN AN

24 ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1028B shall apply 

2 to any public record first posted onto the Internet 

3 or provided in an electronic medium by, or on behalf 

4 of a government entity after the date of enactment 

5 of this section, except as limited by the Attorney 

6 General in accordance with paragraph (2). 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES

8 ALREADY PLACING PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTER9 NET OR IN ELECTRONIC FORM.—Not later than 60 

10 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

11 Attorney General shall issue regulations regarding 

12 the applicability of section 1028B to any record of 

13 a category of public records first posted onto the 

14 Internet or provided in an electronic medium by, or 

15 on behalf of, a government entity prior to the date 

16 of enactment of this section. The regulations will de17 termine which individual records within categories of 

18 records of these government entities, if any, may 

19 continue to be posted on the Internet or in electronic 

20 form after the effective date of this section. In pro21 mulgating these regulations, the Attorney General 

22 may include in the regulations a set of procedures 

23 for implementing the regulations and shall consider 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The cost and availability of tech2 nology available to a governmental entity to re3 dact Social Security numbers from public 

4 records first provided in electronic form after 

5 the effective date of this section. 

6 ‘‘(B) The cost or burden to the general 

7 public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non8 profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 

9 local governments of complying with section 

10 1028B with respect to such records. 

11 ‘‘(C) The benefit to the general public, 

12 businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 

13 organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 

14 governments if the Attorney General were to 

15 determine that section 1028B should apply to 

16 such records. 

17 Nothing in the regulation shall permit a public enti18 ty to post a category of public records on the Inter19 net or in electronic form after the effective date of 

20 this section if such category had not been placed on 

21 the Internet or in electronic form prior to such effec22 tive date. 

23 ‘‘(d) HARVESTED SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.— 

24 Section 1028B shall apply to any public record of a gov25 ernment entity which contains Social Security numbers exVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:55 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H122.IH H122

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1 tracted from other public records for the purpose of dis2 playing or selling such numbers to the general public. 

3 ‘‘(e) ATTORNEY GENERAL RULEMAKING ON PAPER

4 RECORDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this section, the At7 torney General shall determine the feasibility and 

8 advisability of applying section 1028B to the records 

9 listed in paragraph (2) when they appear on paper 

10 or on another nonelectronic medium. If the Attorney 

11 General deems it appropriate, the Attorney General 

12 may issue regulations applying section 1028B to 

13 such records. 

14 ‘‘(2) LIST OF PAPER AND OTHER NONELEC15 TRONIC RECORDS.—The records listed in this para16 graph are as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) Professional or occupational licenses. 

18 ‘‘(B) Marriage licenses. 

19 ‘‘(C) Birth certificates. 

20 ‘‘(D) Death certificates. 

21 ‘‘(E) Other short public documents that 

22 display a Social Security number in a routine 

23 and consistent manner on the face of the docu24 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL RE2 VIEW.—In determining whether section 1028B 

3 should apply to the records listed in paragraph (2), 

4 the Attorney General shall consider the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) The cost or burden to the general 

6 public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non7 profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 

8 local governments of complying with section 

9 1028B. 

10 ‘‘(B) The benefit to the general public, 

11 businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 

12 organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 

13 governments if the Attorney General were to 

14 determine that section 1028B should apply to 

15 such records.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

17 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 

18 Code (as amended by section 3(a)(2)), is amended 

19 by inserting after the item relating to section 1028B 

20 the following: 

‘‘1028C. Display, sale, or purchase of public records containing Social Security 

numbers.’’. 

21 (b) STUDY AND REPORT ON SOCIAL SECURITY NUM22 BERS IN PUBLIC RECORDS.— 

23 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall conduct a study and prepare a 


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1 report on Social Security numbers in public records. 

2 In developing the report, the Comptroller General 

3 shall consult with the Administrative Office of the 

4 United States Courts, State and local governments 

5 that store, maintain, or disseminate public records, 

6 and other stakeholders, including members of the 

7 private sector who routinely use public records that 

8 contain Social Security numbers. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen11 eral of the United States shall submit to Congress 

12 a report on the study conducted under paragraph 

13 (1). The report shall include a detailed description 

14 of the activities and results of the study and rec15 ommendations for such legislative action as the 

16 Comptroller General considers appropriate. The re17 port, at a minimum, shall include— 

18 (A) a review of the uses of Social Security 

19 numbers in non-Federal public records; 

20 (B) a review of the manner in which public 

21 records are stored (with separate reviews for 

22 both paper records and electronic records); 

23 (C) a review of the advantages or utility of 

24 public records that contain Social Security 

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1 ment, and for the promotion of homeland secu2 rity; 

3 (D) a review of the disadvantages or draw4 backs of public records that contain Social Se5 curity numbers, including criminal activity, 

6 compromised personal privacy, or threats to 

7 homeland security; 

8 (E) the costs and benefits for State and 

9 local governments of removing Social Security 

10 numbers from public records, including a review 

11 of current technologies and procedures for re12 moving Social Security numbers from public 

13 records; and 

14 (F) an assessment of the benefits and 

15 costs to businesses, their customers, and the 

16 general public of prohibiting the display of So17 cial Security numbers on public records (with 

18 separate assessments for both paper records 

19 and electronic records). 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition with respect 

21 to electronic versions of new classes of public records 

22 under section 1028C(b) of title 18, United States Code 

23 (as added by subsection (a)(1)) shall not take effect until 

24 the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of 

25 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GEN2 ERAL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

4 (b), the Attorney General may prescribe such rules and 

5 regulations as the Attorney General deems necessary to 

6 carry out the provisions of section 1028B(e)(5) of title 18, 

7 United States Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 

8 (b) DISPLAY, SALE, OR PURCHASE RULEMAKING

9 WITH RESPECT TO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BUSI10 NESSES, GOVERNMENTS, OR BUSINESS AND GOVERN11 MENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen14 eral, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 

15 Security, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Com16 mission, and such other heads of Federal agencies as 

17 the Attorney General determines appropriate, shall 

18 conduct such rulemaking procedures in accordance 

19 with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United 

20 States Code, as are necessary to promulgate regula21 tions to implement and clarify the uses occurring as 

22 a result of an interaction between businesses, gov23 ernments, or business and government (regardless of 

24 which entity initiates the interaction) permitted 

25 under section 1028B(e)(5) of title 18, United States 

26 Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 


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1 (2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In promul2 gating the regulations required under paragraph (1), 

3 the Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider 

4 the following: 

5 (A) The benefit to a particular business, to 

6 customers of the business, and to the general 

7 public of the display, sale, or purchase of an in8 dividual’s Social Security number. 

9 (B) The costs that businesses, customers 

10 of businesses, and the general public may incur 

11 as a result of prohibitions on the display, sale, 

12 or purchase of Social Security numbers. 

13 (C) The risk that a particular business 

14 practice will promote the use of a Social Secu15 rity number to commit fraud, deception, or 

16 crime. 

17 (D) The presence of adequate safeguards, 

18 procedures, and technologies to prevent— 

19 (i) misuse of Social Security numbers 

20 by employees within a business; and 

21 (ii) misappropriation of Social Secu22 rity numbers by the general public, while 

23 permitting internal business uses of such 

24 numbers. 


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1 (E) The presence of procedures to prevent 

2 identity thieves, stalkers, and other individuals 

3 with ill intent from posing as legitimate busi4 nesses to obtain Social Security numbers. 

5 (F) The impact of such uses on privacy. 

6 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON 

7 GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION OF USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY AC9 COUNT NUMBERS ON CHECKS ISSUED FOR PAYMENT BY

10 GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 

12 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(x) No Federal, State, or local agency may display 

15 the Social Security account number of any individual, or 

16 any derivative of such number, on any check issued for 

17 any payment by the Federal, State, or local agency.’’. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

19 by this subsection shall apply with respect to viola20 tions of section 205(c)(2)(C)(x) of the Social Secu21 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(x)), as added by 

22 paragraph (1), occurring after the date that is 3 

23 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (b) PROHIBITION OF INMATE ACCESS TO SOCIAL SE25 CURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 

2 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as 

3 amended by subsection (b)) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(xi) No Federal, State, or local agency may employ, 

6 or enter into a contract for the use or employment of, pris7 oners in any capacity that would allow such prisoners ac8 cess to the Social Security account numbers of other indi9 viduals. For purposes of this clause, the term ‘prisoner’ 

10 means an individual confined in a jail, prison, or other 

11 penal institution or correctional facility pursuant to such 

12 individual’s conviction of a criminal offense.’’. 

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

14 by this subsection shall apply with respect to em15 ployment of prisoners, or entry into contract with 

16 prisoners, after the date that is 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SOCIAL 

19 SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER TRANS20 ACTIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social 

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by add23 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1150A. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SO2 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER 

3 TRANSACTIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A commercial entity may not re5 quire an individual to provide the individual’s Social Secu6 rity number when purchasing a commercial good or service 

7 or deny an individual the good or service for refusing to 

8 provide that number except— 

9 ‘‘(1) for any purpose relating to— 

10 ‘‘(A) obtaining a consumer report for any 

11 purpose permitted under the Fair Credit Re12 porting Act; 

13 ‘‘(B) a background check of the individual 

14 conducted by a landlord, lessor, employer, vol15 untary service agency, or other entity as deter16 mined by the Attorney General; 

17 ‘‘(C) law enforcement; or 

18 ‘‘(D) a Federal, State, or local law require19 ment; or 

20 ‘‘(2) if the Social Security number is necessary 

21 to verify the identity of the consumer to effect, ad22 minister, or enforce the specific transaction re23 quested or authorized by the consumer, or to prevent 

24 fraud. 


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1 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.— 

2 A violation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation 

3 of section 1129(a)(3)(F). 

4 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A vio5 lation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation of 

6 section 208(a)(8). 

7 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No class ac8 tion alleging a violation of this section shall be maintained 

9 under this section by an individual or any private party 

10 in Federal or State court. 

11 ‘‘(e) STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in 

14 which the attorney general of a State has rea15 son to believe that an interest of the residents 

16 of that State has been or is threatened or ad17 versely affected by the engagement of any per18 son in a practice that is prohibited under this 

19 section, the State, as parens patriae, may bring 

20 a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 

21 State in a district court of the United States of 

22 appropriate jurisdiction to— 

23 ‘‘(i) enjoin that practice; 

24 ‘‘(ii) enforce compliance with such 

25 section; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 

2 other compensation on behalf of residents 

3 of the State; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) obtain such other relief as the 

5 court may consider appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an 

8 action under subparagraph (A), the attor9 ney general of the State involved shall pro10 vide to the Attorney General— 

11 ‘‘(I) written notice of the action; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) a copy of the complaint for 

14 the action. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXEMPTION.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

17 shall not apply with respect to the fil18 ing of an action by an attorney gen19 eral of a State under this subsection, 

20 if the State attorney general deter21 mines that it is not feasible to provide 

22 the notice described in such subpara23 graph before the filing of the action. 

24 ‘‘(II) NOTIFICATION.—With re25 spect to an action described in subVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:55 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H122.IH H122

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1 clause (I), the attorney general of a 

2 State shall provide notice and a copy 

3 of the complaint to the Attorney Gen4 eral at the same time as the State at5 torney general files the action. 

6 ‘‘(2) INTERVENTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

8 under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General 

9 shall have the right to intervene in the action 

10 that is the subject of the notice. 

11 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

12 Attorney General intervenes in the action under 

13 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall have 

14 the right to be heard with respect to any matter 

15 that arises in that action. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bring17 ing any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in 

18 this section shall be construed to prevent an attor19 ney general of a State from exercising the powers 

20 conferred on such attorney general by the laws of 

21 that State to— 

22 ‘‘(A) conduct investigations; 

23 ‘‘(B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

2 the production of documentary and other evi3 dence. 

4 ‘‘(4) ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF

5 THE UNITED STATES.—In any case in which an ac6 tion is instituted by or on behalf of the Attorney 

7 General for violation of a practice that is prohibited 

8 under this section, no State may, during the pend9 ency of that action, institute an action under para10 graph (1) against any defendant named in the com11 plaint in that action for violation of that practice. 

12 ‘‘(5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

14 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 

15 court of the United States that meets applicable 

16 requirements relating to venue under section 

17 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 

19 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

20 served in any district in which the defendant— 

21 ‘‘(i) is an inhabitant; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) may be found. 

23 ‘‘(f) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply on or 

24 after the date that is 6 years after the effective date of 

25 this section.’’. 


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1 (b) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than the 

2 date that is 6 years and 6 months after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 

4 with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, shall 

5 issue a report evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency 

6 of section 1150A of the Social Security Act (as added by 

7 subsection (a)) and shall make recommendations to Con8 gress as to any legislative action determined to be nec9 essary or advisable with respect to such section, including 

10 a recommendation regarding whether to reauthorize such 

11 section. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 subsection (a) shall apply to requests to provide a Social 

14 Security number occurring after the date that is 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR 

17 MISUSE OF A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

18 (a) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES TO

19 ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.—Section 1129(a) 

20 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para23 graph (4); 


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1 (2) by redesignating the last sentence of para2 graph (1) as paragraph (2) and inserting such para3 graph after paragraph (1); and 

4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re5 designated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) Any person (including an organization, agency, 

7 or other entity) who— 

8 ‘‘(A) uses a Social Security account number 

9 that such person knows or should know has been as10 signed by the Commissioner of Social Security (in an 

11 exercise of authority under section 205(c)(2) to es12 tablish and maintain records) on the basis of false 

13 information furnished to the Commissioner by any 

14 person; 

15 ‘‘(B) falsely represents a number to be the So16 cial Security account number assigned by the Com17 missioner of Social Security to any individual, when 

18 such person knows or should know that such number 

19 is not the Social Security account number assigned 

20 by the Commissioner to such individual; 

21 ‘‘(C) knowingly alters a Social Security card 

22 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 

23 possesses such a card with intent to alter it; 

24 ‘‘(D) knowingly displays, sells, or purchases a 

25 card that is, or is purported to be, a card issued by 


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1 the Commissioner of Social Security, or possesses 

2 such a card with intent to display, purchase, or sell 

3 it; 

4 ‘‘(E) counterfeits a Social Security card, or pos5 sesses a counterfeit Social Security card with intent 

6 to display, sell, or purchase it; 

7 ‘‘(F) discloses, uses, compels the disclosure of, 

8 or knowingly displays, sells, or purchases the Social 

9 Security account number of any person in violation 

10 of the laws of the United States; 

11 ‘‘(G) with intent to deceive the Commissioner of 

12 Social Security as to such person’s true identity (or 

13 the true identity of any other person) furnishes or 

14 causes to be furnished false information to the Com15 missioner with respect to any information required 

16 by the Commissioner in connection with the estab17 lishment and maintenance of the records provided 

18 for in section 205(c)(2); 

19 ‘‘(H) offers, for a fee, to acquire for any indi20 vidual, or to assist in acquiring for any individual, 

21 an additional Social Security account number or a 

22 number which is or is purported to be a Social Secu23 rity account number; or 

24 ‘‘(I) being an officer or employee of a Federal, 

25 State, or local agency in possession of any individVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:55 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H122.IH H122

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1 ual’s Social Security account number, willfully acts 

2 or fails to act so as to cause a violation by such 

3 agency of clause (vi)(II) or (x) of section 

4 205(c)(2)(C), 

5 shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalties that 

6 may be prescribed by law, a civil money penalty of not 

7 more than $5,000 for each violation. Such person shall 

8 also be subject to an assessment, in lieu of damages sus9 tained by the United States resulting from such violation, 

10 of not more than twice the amount of any benefits or pay11 ments paid as a result of such violation.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

15 shall apply with respect to violations of section 1129 

16 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320–8), as 

17 amended by this section, committed after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) VIOLATIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN

20 POSSESSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—Sec21 tion 1129(a)(3)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(3)(I)), as added by subsection 

23 (a), shall apply with respect to violations of that sec24 tion occurring on or after the effective date de25 scribed in section 3(c). 


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1 SEC. 9. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR THE MISUSE OF A SO2 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

3 (a) PROHIBITION OF WRONGFUL USE AS PERSONAL

4 IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—No person may obtain any 

5 individual’s Social Security number for purposes of locat6 ing or identifying an individual with the intent to phys7 ically injure, harm, or use the identity of the individual 

8 for any illegal purpose. 

9 (b) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—Section 208(a) of the 

10 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (8), by adding ‘‘or’’ after the 

12 semicolon; and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(9) except as provided in subsections (e) and 

16 (f) of section 1028B of title 18, United States Code, 

17 knowingly and willfully displays, sells, or purchases 

18 (as those terms are defined in section 1028B(a) of 

19 title 18, United States Code) any individual’s Social 

20 Security account number without having met the 

21 prerequisites for consent under section 1028B(d) of 

22 title 18, United States Code; or 

23 ‘‘(10) obtains any individual’s Social Security 

24 number for the purpose of locating or identifying the 

25 individual with the intent to injure or to harm that 


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1 individual, or to use the identity of that individual 

2 for an illegal purpose;’’. 

3 SEC. 10. CIVIL ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES. 

4 (a) CIVIL ACTION IN STATE COURTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved by 

6 an act of any person in violation of this Act or any 

7 amendments made by this Act may, if otherwise per8 mitted by the laws or rules of the court of a State, 

9 bring in an appropriate court of that State— 

10 (A) an action to enjoin such violation; 

11 (B) an action to recover for actual mone12 tary loss from such a violation, or to receive up 

13 to $500 in damages for each such violation, 

14 whichever is greater; or 

15 (C) both such actions. 

16 It shall be an affirmative defense in any action 

17 brought under this paragraph that the defendant 

18 has established and implemented, with due care, rea19 sonable practices and procedures to effectively pre20 vent violations of the provisions of this Act, the 

21 amendments made by this Act, or regulations pre22 scribed under this Act or such amendments. If the 

23 court finds that the defendant willfully or knowingly 

24 violated any such provision, the court may, in its 

25 discretion, increase the amount of the award to an 


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1 amount equal to not more than 3 times the amount 

2 available under subparagraph (B). 

3 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action may 

4 be commenced under this subsection not later than 

5 the earlier of— 

6 (A) 5 years after the date on which the al7 leged violation occurred; or 

8 (B) 3 years after the date on which the al9 leged violation was or should have been reason10 ably discovered by the aggrieved individual. 

11 (3) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy pro12 vided under this subsection shall be in addition to 

13 any other remedies available to the individual. 

14 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who the Attor16 ney General determines has violated any provision of 

17 this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall 

18 be subject, in addition to any other penalties that 

19 may be prescribed by law— 

20 (A) to a civil penalty of not more than 

21 $5,000 for each such violation; and 

22 (B) to a civil penalty of not more than 

23 $50,000, if the violations have occurred with 

24 such frequency as to constitute a general busi25 ness practice. 


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1 (2) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS.—Any 

2 willful violation committed contemporaneously with 

3 respect to the Social Security numbers of 2 or more 

4 individuals by means of mail, telecommunication, or 

5 otherwise, shall be treated as a separate violation 

6 with respect to each such individual. 

7 (3) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—The provi8 sions of section 1128A of the Social Security Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a), other than subsections (a), 

10 (b), (f), (h), (i), (j), (m), and (n) and the first sen11 tence of subsection (c) of such section, and the pro12 visions of subsections (d) and (e) of section 205 of 

13 such Act (42 U.S.C. 405) shall apply to a civil pen14 alty action under this subsection in the same man15 ner as such provisions apply to a penalty or pro16 ceeding under section 1128A(a) of such Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 1320a–7a(a)), except that, for purposes of 

18 this paragraph, any reference in section 1128A of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a) to the Secretary 

20 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Attorney 

21 General. 

22 SEC. 11. FEDERAL INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY. 

23 In addition to any other enforcement authority con24 ferred under this Act or the amendments made by this 

25 Act, the Federal Government shall have injunctive authorVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:55 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H122.IH H122

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1 ity with respect to any violation by a public entity of any 

2 provision of this Act or of any amendments made by this 

3 Act. 

Æ 


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