II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2375 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow consumers to prohibit 

certain consumer reporting agencies from releasing any information in 

the files of those consumers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2018 

Mr. BROWN 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 allow consumers 

to prohibit certain consumer reporting agencies from releasing any information in the files of those consumers, 

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 ‘‘Equifax Consumer 

5 Protection and Data Empowerment Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CREDIT LOCKS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act 

3 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

4 section 605B (15 U.S.C. 1681c–2) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 605C. PROTECTION OF CREDIT INFORMATION OF 

6 CONSUMERS. 

7 ‘‘(a) SECURE, CONVENIENT, ACCESSIBLE, AND

8 COST-FREE FILE LOCKS FOR CONSUMERS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

10 each consumer reporting agency described in section 

11 603(p) shall provide to any consumer a secure, con12 venient, accessible, and cost-free method that, with 

13 the express authorization of the consumer, allows 

14 that consumer reporting agency to release, or pre15 vents that consumer reporting agency from releas16 ing, any information in the file of the consumer for 

17 the purpose of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the marketing or extension of credit 

19 or insurance; or 

20 ‘‘(B) opening any financial account. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.—With respect to the 

22 method described in paragraph (1)— 

23 ‘‘(A) the method may not be used by the 

24 consumer reporting agency that provides the 

25 method, or by any other person, to collect any 

26 information on a consumer that is not necVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Feb 06, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2375.IS S2375

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1 essary for the purposes of preventing the re2 lease of information described in that para3 graph; 

4 ‘‘(B) no information collected under the 

5 method may be used for any purpose other than 

6 a purpose described in subparagraph (A); 

7 ‘‘(C) in offering the method, a credit re8 porting agency described in section 603(p) may 

9 not require a consumer to— 

10 ‘‘(i) waive any rights of the consumer; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(ii) indemnify the credit reporting 

13 agency with respect to any liabilities that 

14 arise from offering the method; and 

15 ‘‘(D) the method may not be used by any 

16 person to market or advertise any product or 

17 service. 

18 ‘‘(3) RELEASE OF INFORMATION.—Nothing in 

19 this subsection shall affect the ability of a person 

20 with whom a consumer has an account, contract, or 

21 debtor-creditor relationship to obtain information re22 garding the consumer for the purposes of reviewing 

23 the account or collecting on the account. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

2 the date of enactment of this section, the Bureau shall 

3 prescribe regulations carrying out this section.’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

5 of contents for the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relat7 ing to section 605B the following: 

‘‘605C. Protection of credit information of consumers.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. PERMISSIBLE PURPOSES OF CREDIT REPORTS; DIS9 CLOSURE TO CONSUMERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act 

11 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) in section 604 (15 U.S.C. 1681b)— 

13 (A) in subsection (a)— 

14 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

15 (1)— 

16 (I) by striking ‘‘Subject to sub17 section (c), any’’ and inserting ‘‘Any’’; 

18 and 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘a consumer re20 port’’ and inserting ‘‘information from 

21 the file of a consumer’’; 

22 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (I) by striking subparagraphs (A) 

24 and (C); 


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1 (II) by redesignating subpara2 graph (B) as subparagraph (A); 

3 (III) by redesignating subpara4 graphs (D) through (G) as subpara5 graphs (B) through (E), respectively; 

6 and 

7 (IV) in subparagraph (D), as so 

8 redesignated, by striking ‘‘informa9 tion—’’ and all that follows through 

10 the period at the end of clause (ii) 

11 and inserting the following: ‘‘informa12 tion to review an account to determine 

13 whether the consumer continues to 

14 meet the terms of the account; or’’; 

15 and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(7) Pursuant to the express authorization of a 

19 consumer, subject to the method provided under sec20 tion 605C(a) in the case of a consumer reporting 

21 agency described in section 603(p).’’; 

22 (B) by striking subsection (c); and 

23 (C) by redesignating subsections (d) 

24 through (g) as subsections (c) through (f), re25 spectively; 


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1 (2) in section 609(a)(1) (15 U.S.C. 

2 1681g(a)(1)), by striking ‘‘request, except that—’’ 

3 and all that follows through the period at the end 

4 of subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘request, without regard to whether the information 

6 is held by a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the 

7 consumer reporting agency.’’; 

8 (3) in section 612(a)(1)(A) (15 U.S.C. 

9 1681j(a)(1)(A)), by striking ‘‘once during any 12- 

10 month period’’; and 

11 (4) in section 615 (15 U.S.C. 1681m)— 

12 (A) by striking subsection (d); and 

13 (B) by redesignating subsections (e) 

14 through (h) as subsections (d) through (g), re15 spectively. 

16 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau of Consumer 

18 Financial Protection shall issue regulations carrying out 

19 section 609(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)), as amended by subsection (a)(2). 

21 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION ACT OF

23 2010.—Section 1002(12)(F) of the Consumer Finan24 cial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481(12)(F)) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘615(e)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘615(d)’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘1681m(e)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘1681m(d)’’. 

5 (2) FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT.—The Fair 

6 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) in section 603 (15 U.S.C. 1681a)— 

9 (i) in subsection (d)(3), in the matter 

10 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

11 ‘‘section 604(g)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

12 604(f)(3)’’; and 

13 (ii) in subsection (k)(1)(B)— 

14 (I) in clause (iii), by striking 

15 ‘‘section 604(a)(3)(D)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘section 604(a)(3)(B)’’; and 

17 (II) in clause (iv)(I), by striking 

18 ‘‘section 604(a)(3)(F)(ii)’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘section 604(a)(3)(D)’’; 

20 (B) in section 621 (15 U.S.C. 1681s)— 

21 (i) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter 

22 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘persons who furnish information to such 

24 agencies, and users of information that are 

25 subject to section 615(d)’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘and persons who furnish information to 

2 such agencies’’; and 

3 (ii) in subsection (e)(1), in the first 

4 sentence, by striking ‘‘615(e)’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘615(d)’’; 

6 (C) in section 623(c)(3) (15 U.S.C. 1681s– 

7 2(c)(3)), by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 

9 (D) in section 625(b) (15 U.S.C. 

10 1681t(b))— 

11 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (I) in subparagraph (A), by strik13 ing ‘‘subsection (c) or (e) of section 

14 604’’ and inserting ‘‘section 604(d)’’; 

15 (II) by striking subparagraph 

16 (D); 

17 (III) by redesignating subpara18 graphs (E) through (I) as subpara19 graphs (D) through (H), respectively; 

20 and 

21 (IV) in subparagraph (H), as so 

22 redesignated, by striking ‘‘section 

23 615(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

24 615(g)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (5)(F), by striking 

2 ‘‘(e), (f), and (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d), (e), 

3 and (f)’’. 

4 SEC. 4. ENHANCEMENT OF FRAUD ALERT PROTECTIONS. 

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

6 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (a); 

8 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (h) 

9 as subsections (a) through (g), respectively; 

10 (3) in subsection (a), as so redesignated— 

11 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘EXTENDED’’ and inserting ‘‘FRAUD’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (i) in the matter preceding subpara15 graph (A), by striking ‘‘submits an identity 

16 theft report’’ and inserting ‘‘asserts in 

17 good faith a suspicion that the consumer 

18 has been or is about to become a victim of 

19 fraud or related crime, including identity 

20 theft, or has been or will be harmed by the 

21 unauthorized disclosure of the financial or 

22 personally identifiable information of the 

23 consumer,’’; 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

25 ‘‘7-year’’ and inserting ‘‘10-year’’; 


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1 (iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

2 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

3 (C) as subparagraph (B); 

4 (v) in subparagraph (B), as so redes5 ignated— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘extended’’; and 

7 (II) by striking the period at the 

8 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (vi) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(C) upon the expiration of the period de12 scribed in subparagraph (A), or a subsequent 

13 10-year period, and in response to a direct re14 quest by the consumer or such representative, 

15 continue the fraud alert for an additional period 

16 of 10 years if the consumer or such representa17 tive submits an identity theft report.’’; 

18 (4) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

19 (A) by striking paragraph (2); 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

21 (3) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

22 and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

23 (C) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘Upon the 

25 direct request’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the direct request’’; 

2 and 

3 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO FREE REPORTS.—If a con5 sumer reporting agency includes an active duty alert 

6 in the file of an active duty military consumer, the 

7 consumer reporting agency shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) disclose to the active duty military 

9 consumer that the active duty military con10 sumer may request a free copy of the file of the 

11 active duty military consumer under section 

12 612(d) during each 1-year period beginning on 

13 the date on which the activity duty military 

14 alert is requested and ending on the date of the 

15 last day that the active duty alert applies to the 

16 file of the active duty military consumer; and 

17 ‘‘(B) not later than 3 business days after 

18 the date on which the active duty military con19 sumer makes a request described in subpara20 graph (A), provide to the active duty military 

21 consumer all disclosures required to be made 

22 under section 609, without charge to the active 

23 duty military consumer.’’; 

24 (5) by amending subsection (c), as so redesig25 nated, to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—Each consumer reporting agen2 cy described in section 603(p) shall establish and make 

3 available to the public on the Internet website of the con4 sumer reporting agency policies and procedures to comply 

5 with this section, including policies and procedures— 

6 ‘‘(1) that inform consumers of the availability 

7 of fraud alerts, active duty alerts, or the method 

8 provided under section 605C(a), as applicable; 

9 ‘‘(2) that allow consumers to request fraud 

10 alerts and active duty alerts in a simple and easy 

11 manner; and 

12 ‘‘(3) for asserting in good faith a suspicion that 

13 the consumer has been or is about to become a vic14 tim of fraud or related crime, including identity 

15 theft, or has been or will be harmed by the unau16 thorized disclosure of the financial or personally 

17 identifiable information of the consumer, for a con18 sumer requesting a fraud alert.’’; 

19 (6) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) paragraphs (1)(A), (1)(C), and (2) of sub23 section (a), in the case of a referral under subsection 

24 (a)(1)(B); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) subsection (b)(1)(A), in the case of a refer2 ral under subsection (b)(1)(B).’’; 

3 (7) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by in4 serting ‘‘or has been or will be harmed by the unau5 thorized disclosure of the financial or personally 

6 identifiable information of the consumer,’’ after 

7 ‘‘identity theft,’’; and 

8 (8) in subsection (g), as so redesignated— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik11 ing ‘‘INITIAL’’ and inserting ‘‘FRAUD

12 ALERTS’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

14 ‘‘initial’’; and 

15 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik16 ing ‘‘an initial’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik19 ing ‘‘EXTENDED’’ and inserting ‘‘FRAUD’’; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (A), in the mat21 ter preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘ex22 tended’’ and inserting ‘‘fraud’’; and 

23 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

24 ‘‘an extended’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 Section 612(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1681j(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsections 

4 (a)(2) and (b)(2) of section 605A, as applicable’’ and in5 serting ‘‘section 605A(a)(2)’’. 

Æ 


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