II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1982 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to establish a national security 

freeze standard, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 18, 2017 

Mr. PERDUE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to establish a 

national security freeze standard, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Responsible 

5 Oversight of Transactions and Examinations of Credit 

6 Technology Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘PROTECT Act of 

7 2017’’. 


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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL SECURITY 

2 FREEZE 

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL SECURITY FREEZE AND ADDITIONAL 

4 PROTECTIONS FOR FILES AND CREDIT 

5 RECORDS OF PROTECTED CONSUMERS. 

6 Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL SECURITY FREEZE AND ADDITIONAL

10 PROTECTIONS FOR FILES AND CREDIT RECORDS OF PRO11 TECTED CONSUMERS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(A) The term ‘proper identification’ has 

15 the meaning of such term as used under section 

16 610. 

17 ‘‘(B) The term ‘consumer reporting agen18 cy’ means a consumer reporting agency that 

19 compiles and maintains files on consumers on a 

20 nationwide basis. 

21 ‘‘(C) The term ‘security freeze’ means a 

22 restriction placed on making consumer reports 

23 of a consumer, at the request of the consumer, 

24 that prohibits a consumer reporting agency 

25 from making a consumer report with respect to 


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1 the consumer to any person for the purpose of 

2 opening a new account involving the extension 

3 of credit. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUEST FOR SECURITY FREEZE, PROC5 ESSING TIME, CONFIRMATION OF FREEZE AND PER6 SONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER OR PASSWORD.— 

7 ‘‘(A) REQUEST.—A consumer may request 

8 that a consumer reporting agency place a secu9 rity freeze by sending a request via mail, tele10 phone, facsimile, internet, or other electronic 

11 media to the consumer reporting agency in a 

12 manner designated by the consumer reporting 

13 agency to receive such requests. 

14 ‘‘(B) PLACEMENT OF SECURITY

15 FREEZE.—A consumer reporting agency shall 

16 place a security freeze no later than 5 business 

17 days after receiving from the consumer— 

18 ‘‘(i) a request described under sub19 paragraph (A); 

20 ‘‘(ii) proper identification; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) payment of the required fee, if 

22 applicable. 

23 ‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION AND ADDITIONAL IN24 FORMATION.—Not later than 10 business days 


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1 after placing a security freeze, the consumer re2 porting agency shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) send confirmation of the place4 ment to the consumer; 

5 ‘‘(ii) inform the consumer of the proc6 ess by which the consumer may tempo7 rarily lift the security freeze and allow the 

8 consumer reporting agency to make a con9 sumer report with respect to the consumer 

10 for a specific entity or a specific period of 

11 time; 

12 ‘‘(iii) provide the consumer with a 

13 unique personal identification number or 

14 password to be used with the process de15 scribed under subparagraph (B); and 

16 ‘‘(iv) inform the consumer of the proc17 ess by which the consumer may remove the 

18 security freeze. 

19 ‘‘(D) NOTICE TO THIRD PARTIES.—A con20 sumer reporting agency may advise a third 

21 party that a security freeze has been placed 

22 with respect to a consumer. 

23 ‘‘(3) REQUESTS TO TEMPORARILY LIFT

24 FREEZE, TIMING, REQUEST PROCEDURES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a consumer with a 

2 security freeze in place wishes to temporarily 

3 allow a consumer reporting agency to make a 

4 consumer report with respect to the consumer 

5 for a specific entity or a specific period of time, 

6 the consumer may notify the consumer report7 ing agency using a method of contact des8 ignated by the consumer reporting agency, re9 questing that the freeze be temporarily lifted, 

10 and providing, to complete the request, all of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Proper identification. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The unique personal identifica14 tion number or password provided by the 

15 consumer reporting agency pursuant to 

16 paragraph (2)(C). 

17 ‘‘(iii) The applicable information re18 garding the entity or time period with re19 spect to which the consumer wishes the se20 curity freeze to be lifted. 

21 ‘‘(iv) The required fee, if applicable. 

22 ‘‘(B) TEMPORARY LIFTING OF SECURITY

23 FREEZE.—A consumer reporting agency that 

24 receives a request described under subpara25 graph (A) shall comply with the request not 


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1 later than 3 business days after receiving the 

2 request. 

3 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—A consumer report4 ing agency may develop procedures involving 

5 the use of telephone, facsimile, the internet, or 

6 other electronic media to receive and process a 

7 request from a consumer described under sub8 paragraph (A) in an expedited manner. 

9 ‘‘(4) MANDATORY REMOVAL OR TEMPORARY

10 LIFTING OF FREEZE, NOTICE TO CONSUMER, AND

11 THIRD-PARTY REQUESTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

13 agency shall remove or temporarily lift a freeze 

14 placed on the consumer report of a consumer 

15 only in the following cases: 

16 ‘‘(i) Upon consumer request. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The security freeze was placed 

18 due to a material misrepresentation of fact 

19 by the consumer. 

20 ‘‘(B) NOTICE IF REMOVAL NOT BY RE21 QUEST.—If a consumer reporting agency in22 tends to remove a security freeze with respect 

23 to a consumer, and is not doing so at the re24 quest of the consumer, the consumer reporting 


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1 agency shall notify the consumer in writing 

2 prior to removing the security freeze. 

3 ‘‘(C) THIRD-PARTY REQUESTS.—If a third 

4 party requests access to a consumer report of 

5 a consumer with respect to which a security 

6 freeze is in effect, where such request is in con7 nection with an application for credit or any 

8 other use, and the consumer does not allow 

9 such consumer report to be accessed, the third 

10 party may treat the application as incomplete. 

11 ‘‘(5) REMOVAL OF FREEZE BY CONSUMER RE12 QUEST.—A security freeze shall remain in place 

13 until the consumer requests, using a method of con14 tact designated by the consumer reporting agency, 

15 that the security freeze be removed. A consumer re16 porting agency shall remove a security freeze within 

17 3 business days of receiving such a request for re18 moval from the consumer, who provides along with 

19 it— 

20 ‘‘(A) proper identification; 

21 ‘‘(B) the unique personal identification 

22 number or password provided by the consumer 

23 reporting agency pursuant to paragraph (2)(C); 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(C) the required fee, if applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTIONS.—A security freeze shall not 

2 apply to the making of a consumer report for use by 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) A person or entity, or a subsidiary, 

5 affiliate, or agent of that person or entity, or an 

6 assignee of a financial obligation owed by the 

7 consumer to that person or entity, or a prospec8 tive assignee of a financial obligation owed by 

9 the consumer to that person or entity in con10 junction with the proposed purchase of the fi11 nancial obligation, with which the consumer has 

12 or had prior to assignment an account or con13 tract including a demand deposit account, or to 

14 whom the consumer issued a negotiable instru15 ment, for the purposes of reviewing the account 

16 or collecting the financial obligation owed for 

17 the account, contract, or negotiable instrument. 

18 For purposes of this subparagraph, ‘reviewing 

19 the account’ includes activities related to ac20 count maintenance, monitoring, credit line in21 creases, and account upgrades and enhance22 ments. 

23 ‘‘(B) A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, as24 signee, or prospective assignee of a person to 

25 whom access has been granted for purposes of 


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1 facilitating the extension of credit or other per2 missible use. 

3 ‘‘(C) Any Federal, State or local agency, 

4 law enforcement agency, trial court, or private 

5 collection agency acting pursuant to a court 

6 order, warrant, or subpoena. 

7 ‘‘(D) A child support agency acting pursu8 ant to part D of title IV of the Social Security 

9 Act. 

10 ‘‘(E) A State or its agents or assigns act11 ing to investigate fraud or acting to investigate 

12 or collect delinquent taxes or unpaid court or13 ders or to fulfill any of its other statutory re14 sponsibilities, provided such responsibilities are 

15 consistent with a permissible purpose under sec16 tion 604. 

17 ‘‘(F) A person using credit information for 

18 the purposes described under section 604(c). 

19 ‘‘(G) Any person or entity administering a 

20 credit file monitoring subscription or similar 

21 service to which the consumer has subscribed. 

22 ‘‘(H) Any person or entity for the purpose 

23 of providing a consumer with a copy of the con24 sumer’s consumer report or credit score, upon 

25 the request of the consumer. 


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1 ‘‘(I) Any person using the information in 

2 connection with the underwriting of insurance. 

3 ‘‘(J) Any person using the information for 

4 employment, tenant, or background screening 

5 purposes. 

6 ‘‘(7) FEES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

8 agency may charge a fee of no more than $5 to 

9 a consumer for each security freeze, removal of 

10 a security freeze, or temporary lifting of a secu11 rity freeze. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A consumer reporting 

13 agency shall not charge any fee described under 

14 subparagraph (A) to— 

15 ‘‘(i) a victim of identity theft who has 

16 submitted, at the time the security freeze 

17 is requested, a copy of a valid investigative 

18 or incident report or complaint with a law 

19 enforcement agency about the unlawful use 

20 of the victim’s identifying information by 

21 another person; 

22 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in subsection 

23 (j), a consumer who is a minor or 65 years 

24 of age or older for the initial placement 

25 and removal of a security freeze; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a consumer who has submitted a 

2 copy of the consumer’s orders calling the 

3 service member to military service and any 

4 orders further extending the service mem5 ber’s period of service if currently active. 

6 ‘‘(8) MODIFICATION OF OFFICIAL INFORMA7 TION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a security freeze is 

9 in place, a consumer reporting agency shall not 

10 change any of the following official information 

11 in the file of a consumer without sending con12 firmation of the change to the consumer within 

13 30 days of the change being posted to the file 

14 of the consumer: 

15 ‘‘(i) Name. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Date of birth. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Social Security number. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Address. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR TECHNICAL MODI20 FICATIONS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply 

21 to technical modifications of official information 

22 of a consumer, including name and street ab23 breviations, complete spellings, or transposition 

24 of numbers or letters. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ADDRESS CHANGES.—In the case of 

2 an address change, the confirmation described 

3 under subparagraph (A) shall be sent to both 

4 the new address and to the former address. 

5 ‘‘(9) NOTICE OF RIGHTS.—At any time a con6 sumer is required to receive a summary of rights re7 quired under section 609, the following notice shall 

8 be included: 

9 ‘‘ ‘Consumers Have the Right To Obtain a Security 

10 Freeze—You have a right to place a ‘‘security freeze’’ on 

11 your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer report12 ing agency from releasing information in your credit re13 port without your express authorization. The security 

14 freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services 

15 from being approved in your name without your consent. 

16 However, you should be aware that using a security freeze 

17 to take control over who gets access to the personal and 

18 financial information in your credit report may delay, 

19 interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any sub20 sequent request or application you make regarding a new 

21 loan, credit, mortgage, government services or payments, 

22 rental housing, employment, investment, license, cellular 

23 phone, utilities, digital signature, internet credit card 

24 transaction, or other services, including an extension of 

25 credit at point of sale. When you place a security freeze 


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1 on your credit report, you will be provided a personal iden2 tification number or password to use if you choose to re3 move the security freeze on your credit report or authorize 

4 the release of your credit report to a particular entity or 

5 for a period of time after the freeze is in place. To provide 

6 that authorization you must contact the consumer report7 ing agency by one of the methods that it requires, and 

8 provide all of the following: 

9 ‘‘ ‘(1) The personal identification number or 

10 password. 

11 ‘‘ ‘(2) Proper identification to verify your iden12 tity. 

13 ‘‘ ‘(3) The applicable information regarding the 

14 entity or time period with respect to which the con15 sumer wishes the security freeze to be lifted. 

16 ‘‘ ‘(4) The payment of the appropriate fee, if 

17 applicable. 

18 ‘‘ ‘A consumer reporting agency must authorize the 

19 release of your credit report no later than 3 business days 

20 after receiving all of the above items by any method that 

21 the consumer reporting agency allows. 

22 ‘‘ ‘A security freeze does not apply to a person or enti23 ty, or its affiliates, or collection agencies acting on behalf 

24 of the person or entity, with which you have an existing 

25 account that requests information in your credit report for 


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1 the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account. Re2 viewing the account includes activities related to account 

3 maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and ac4 count upgrades and enhancements. 

5 ‘‘ ‘You have a right to bring a civil action against any6 one, including a consumer reporting agency, who willfully 

7 or negligently fails to comply with the Federal law on secu8 rity freezes (section 605C of the Fair Credit Reporting 

9 Act). 

10 ‘‘ ‘A consumer reporting agency has the right to 

11 charge you up to Five Dollars ($5.00) to place a security 

12 freeze, up to Five Dollars ($5.00) to temporarily lift a se13 curity freeze, and up to Five Dollars ($5.00) to remove 

14 a security freeze. However, you shall not be charged any 

15 fee if you are a victim of identity theft who has submitted, 

16 at the time the security freeze is requested, a copy of a 

17 valid investigative or incident report or complaint with a 

18 law enforcement agency about the unlawful use of your 

19 identifying information by another person, or if you are 

20 a minor or sixty-five (65) years of age or older for the 

21 initial placement and removal of a security freeze.’. 

22 ‘‘(j) NATIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR FILES AND CRED23 IT RECORDS OF PROTECTED CONSUMERS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The term ‘consumer reporting agen2 cy’ means a consumer reporting agency that 

3 compiles and maintains files on consumers on a 

4 nationwide basis. 

5 ‘‘(B) The term ‘protected consumer’ means 

6 an individual who is— 

7 ‘‘(i) under the age of 16 years at the 

8 time a request for the placement of a secu9 rity freeze is made; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) an incapacitated person or a pro11 tected person for whom a guardian or con12 servator has been appointed. 

13 ‘‘(C) The term ‘record’ means a compila14 tion of information that— 

15 ‘‘(i) identifies a protected consumer; 

16 ‘‘(ii) is created by a consumer report17 ing agency solely for the purpose of com18 plying with this subsection; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) may not be created or used to 

20 consider the protected consumer’s credit 

21 worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, 

22 character, general reputation, personal 

23 characteristics, or mode of living. 

24 ‘‘(D) The term ‘representative’ means a 

25 person who provides to a consumer reporting 


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1 agency sufficient proof of authority to act on 

2 behalf of a protected consumer. 

3 ‘‘(E) The term ‘security freeze’ means— 

4 ‘‘(i) if a consumer reporting agency 

5 does not have a file pertaining to a pro6 tected consumer, a restriction that— 

7 ‘‘(I) is placed on the protected 

8 consumer’s record in accordance with 

9 this subsection; and 

10 ‘‘(II) prohibits the consumer re11 porting agency from releasing the pro12 tected consumer’s record except as 

13 provided in this subsection; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) if a consumer reporting agency 

15 has a file pertaining to the protected con16 sumer, a restriction that— 

17 ‘‘(I) is placed on the protected 

18 consumer’s consumer report in ac19 cordance with this subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(II) prohibits the consumer re21 porting agency from releasing the pro22 tected consumer’s consumer report ex23 cept as provided in this subsection. 

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1 resentative has authority to act on behalf of a 

2 protected consumer and includes— 

3 ‘‘(i) an order issued by a court of law; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a lawfully executed and valid 

5 power of attorney; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) a written, notarized statement 

7 signed by a representative that expressly 

8 describes the authority of the representa9 tive to act on behalf of a protected con10 sumer. 

11 ‘‘(G) The term ‘sufficient proof of identi12 fication’ means information or documentation 

13 that identifies a protected consumer or a rep14 resentative of a protected consumer and in15 cludes— 

16 ‘‘(i) a Social Security number or a 

17 copy of a Social Security card issued by 

18 the Social Security Administration; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a certified or official copy of a 

20 birth certificate issued by the entity au21 thorized to issue the birth certificate; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) a copy of a driver’s license, an 

23 identification card issued by the motor ve24 hicle administration, or any other govern25 ment issued identification. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 

2 apply to the making of a consumer report for use by 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) A person or entity, or a subsidiary, 

5 affiliate, or agent of that person or entity, or an 

6 assignee of a financial obligation owed by the 

7 consumer to that person or entity, or a prospec8 tive assignee of a financial obligation owed by 

9 the consumer to that person or entity in con10 junction with the proposed purchase of the fi11 nancial obligation, with which the consumer has 

12 or had prior to assignment an account or con13 tract including a demand deposit account, or to 

14 whom the consumer issued a negotiable instru15 ment, for the purposes of reviewing the account 

16 or collecting the financial obligation owed for 

17 the account, contract, or negotiable instrument. 

18 For purposes of this subparagraph, ‘reviewing 

19 the account’ includes activities related to ac20 count maintenance, monitoring, credit line in21 creases, and account upgrades and enhance22 ments. 

23 ‘‘(B) A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, as24 signee, or prospective assignee of a person to 

25 whom access has been granted for purposes of 


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1 facilitating the extension of credit or other per2 missible use. 

3 ‘‘(C) Any Federal, State or local agency, 

4 law enforcement agency, trial court, or private 

5 collection agency acting pursuant to a court 

6 order, warrant, or subpoena. 

7 ‘‘(D) A child support agency acting pursu8 ant to part D of title IV of the Social Security 

9 Act. 

10 ‘‘(E) The State or its agents or assigns 

11 acting to investigate fraud or acting to inves12 tigate or collect delinquent taxes or unpaid 

13 court orders or to fulfill any of its other statu14 tory responsibilities, provided such responsibil15 ities are consistent with a permissible purpose 

16 under section 604. 

17 ‘‘(F) A person using credit information for 

18 the purposes described under section 604(c). 

19 ‘‘(G) Any person or entity administering a 

20 credit file monitoring subscription or similar 

21 service to which the consumer has subscribed. 

22 ‘‘(H) Any person or entity for the purpose 

23 of providing a consumer with a copy of the con24 sumer’s consumer report or credit score, upon 

25 the request of the consumer. 


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1 ‘‘(I) Any person using the information in 

2 connection with the underwriting of insurance. 

3 ‘‘(J) Any person using the information for 

4 employment, tenant or background screening 

5 purposes. 

6 ‘‘(3) PLACING A FREEZE FOR A PROTECTED

7 CONSUMER.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

9 agency shall place a security freeze for a pro10 tected consumer if— 

11 ‘‘(i) the consumer reporting agency 

12 receives a request from the protected con13 sumer’s representative for the placement of 

14 the security freeze under this subsection; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the protected consumer’s rep17 resentative— 

18 ‘‘(I) submits the request to the 

19 consumer reporting agency at the ad20 dress or other point of contact and in 

21 the manner specified by the consumer 

22 reporting agency; 

23 ‘‘(II) provides to the consumer 

24 reporting agency sufficient proof of 


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1 identification of the protected con2 sumer and the representative; 

3 ‘‘(III) provides to the consumer 

4 reporting agency sufficient proof of 

5 authority to act on behalf of the pro6 tected consumer; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) pays to the consumer re8 porting agency a fee as provided 

9 under this subsection; 

10 ‘‘(B) CREATION OF FILE.—If a consumer 

11 reporting agency does not have a file pertaining 

12 to a protected consumer when the consumer re13 porting agency receives a request under sub14 paragraph (A), the consumer reporting agency 

15 shall create a credit record for the protected 

16 consumer. 

17 ‘‘(C) PLACEMENT OF SECURITY FREEZE.— 

18 Within 3 days after receiving a request de19 scribed under subparagraph (A), a consumer re20 porting agency shall place a security freeze for 

21 the protected consumer. 

22 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION ON RELEASE OF RECORD OR

23 FILE OF PROTECTED CONSUMER.—Unless a security 

24 freeze for a protected consumer is removed in ac25 cordance with this subsection, a consumer reporting 


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1 agency may not release the protected consumer’s 

2 consumer report, any information derived from the 

3 protected consumer’s consumer report, or any record 

4 created for the protected consumer. 

5 ‘‘(5) TIMELINE FOR A FREEZE FOR A PRO6 TECTED CONSUMER.—A security freeze for a pro7 tected consumer placed under this subsection shall 

8 remain in effect until— 

9 ‘‘(A) the protected consumer or the pro10 tected consumer’s representative requests the 

11 consumer reporting agency to remove the secu12 rity freeze in accordance with paragraph (6); or 

13 ‘‘(B) the security freeze is removed in ac14 cordance with paragraph (9). 

15 ‘‘(6) REMOVAL OF A PROTECTED CONSUMER

16 SECURITY FREEZE.—If a protected consumer or a 

17 protected consumer’s representative wishes to re18 move a security freeze for the protected consumer, 

19 the protected consumer or the protected consumer’s 

20 representative shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) submit a request for the removal of 

22 the security freeze to the consumer reporting 

23 agency at the address or other point of contact 

24 and in the manner specified by the consumer 

25 reporting agency; 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide to the consumer reporting 

2 agency— 

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of a request by the 

4 protected consumer— 

5 ‘‘(I) proof that the sufficient 

6 proof of authority for the protected 

7 consumer’s representative to act on 

8 behalf of the protected consumer is no 

9 longer valid; and 

10 ‘‘(II) sufficient proof of identi11 fication of the protected consumer; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a request by the 

13 representative of a protected consumer— 

14 ‘‘(I) sufficient proof of identifica15 tion of the protected consumer and 

16 the representative; and 

17 ‘‘(II) sufficient proof of authority 

18 to act on behalf of the protected con19 sumer; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) pay to the consumer reporting 

21 agency a fee, if applicable, as provided in 

22 paragraph (8). 

23 ‘‘(7) TIMING OF REMOVAL OF A PROTECTED

24 CONSUMER FREEZE.—Within 3 days after receiving 

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1 sumer reporting agency shall remove the security 

2 freeze for the protected consumer. 

3 ‘‘(8) FEES FOR A PROTECTED CONSUMER

4 FREEZE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), a consumer reporting agency 

7 may not charge a fee for any service performed 

8 under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(B) REASONABLE FEE PERMITTED.—A 

10 consumer reporting agency may charge a rea11 sonable fee, not exceeding $5, for each place12 ment or removal of a security freeze for a pro13 tected consumer. 

14 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding sub15 paragraph (B), a consumer reporting agency 

16 may not charge any fee under this subsection 

17 if— 

18 ‘‘(i) the protected consumer’s rep19 resentative has obtained a police report or 

20 affidavit of alleged identity fraud against 

21 the protected consumer and provides a 

22 copy of the report to the consumer report23 ing agency; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a request for the placement or 

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1 tected consumer who is under the age of 

2 sixteen years of age at the time of the re3 quest and the consumer reporting agency 

4 has a consumer report pertaining to the 

5 protected consumer. 

6 ‘‘(9) DELETION OF FILE OR RECORD CREATED

7 BASED ON A MATERIAL MISREPRESENTATION.—A 

8 consumer reporting agency may remove a security 

9 freeze for a protected consumer or delete a record of 

10 a protected consumer if the security freeze was 

11 placed or the record was created based on a material 

12 misrepresentation of fact by the protected consumer 

13 or the protected consumer’s representative.’’. 

14 TITLE II—CREDIT RATING AGEN15 CY USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY 

16 NUMBERS 

17 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY 

18 NUMBERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605 of the Fair Credit 

20 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c), as amended by title II, 

21 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(k) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF SOCIAL SECU23 RITY NUMBERS.—A consumer reporting agency that com24 piles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide 

25 basis— 


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1 ‘‘(1) may not make any consumer report con2 taining a Social Security number; and 

3 ‘‘(2) may not use the Social Security number of 

4 a consumer as a method to identify the consumer, 

5 or for any other purpose.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 609(a)(1) 

7 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)) 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘except that—’’ and all that fol9 lows through ‘‘(B) nothing’’ and inserting ‘‘except that 

10 nothing’’. 

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

12 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2020. 

Æ 


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