I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1450

To protect the privacy of the individual with respect to the Social Security

number and other personal information, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 15, 1999

Mr. KLECZKA (for himself, Mr. OBEY, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey,

and Mr. MURTHA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on

Banking and Financial Services, and the Judiciary, 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 protect the privacy of the individual with respect to

the Social Security number and other personal information, 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 ‘‘Personal Information

5 Privacy Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF CREDIT HEADER

2 INFORMATION.

3 Section 603(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

4 U.S.C. 1681a(d)) is amended by inserting after the first

5 sentence the following: ‘‘The term also includes any other

6 identifying information of the consumer, except the name,

7 address, and telephone number of the consumer if listed

8 in a residential telephone directory available in the locality

9 of the consumer.’’.

10 SEC. 3. PROTECTING PRIVACY BY PROHIBITING USE OF

11 THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER FOR COM12 MERCIAL PURPOSES WITHOUT CONSENT.

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

14 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by add15 ing at the end the following:

16 ‘‘PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN MISUSES OF THE SOCIAL

17 SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBER

18 ‘‘SEC. 1146. (a) PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIAL AC19 QUISITION OR DISTRIBUTION.—No person may buy, sell,

20 offer for sale, take or give in exchange, or pledge or give

21 in pledge any information for the purpose, in whole or in

22 part, of conveying by means of such information any indi23 vidual’s social security account number, or any derivative

24 of such number, without the written consent of such indi25 vidual.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF USE AS PERSONAL IDENTI2 FICATION NUMBER.—No person may utilize any individ3 ual’s social security account number, or any derivative of

4 such number, for purposes of identification of such indi5 vidual without the written consent of such individual.

6 ‘‘(c) PREREQUISITES FOR CONSENT.—In order for

7 consent to exist under subsection (a) or (b), the person

8 engaged in, or seeking to engage in, an activity described

9 in such subsection shall—

10 ‘‘(1) inform the individual of all the purposes

11 for which the number will be utilized and the per12 sons to whom the number will be known; and

13 ‘‘(2) obtain affirmatively expressed consent in

14 writing.

15 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be

16 construed to prohibit any use of social security account

17 numbers permitted or required under section 205(c)(2) of

18 this Act, section 7(a)(2) of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5

19 U.S.C. 552a note; 88 Stat. 1909), or section 6109(d) of

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

21 ‘‘(e) CIVIL ACTION IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT

22 COURT; DAMAGES; ATTORNEYS FEES AND COSTS; NON23 EXCLUSIVE NATURE OF REMEDY.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved

25 by any act of any person in violation of this section
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1 may bring a civil action in a United States district

2 court to recover—

3 ‘‘(A) such preliminary and equitable relief

4 as the court determines to be appropriate; and

5 ‘‘(B) the greater of—

6 ‘‘(i) actual damages; and

7 ‘‘(ii) liquidated damages of $25,000

8 or, in the case of a violation that was will9 ful and resulted in profit or monetary gain,

10 $50,000.

11 ‘‘(2) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS.—In the

12 case of a civil action brought under paragraph (1)

13 in which the aggrieved individual has substantially

14 prevailed, the court may assess against the respond15 ent a reasonable attorney’s fee and other litigation

16 costs and expenses (including expert fees) reasonably

17 incurred.

18 ‘‘(3) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—No action

19 may be commenced under this subsection more than

20 3 years after the date on which the violation was or

21 should reasonably have been discovered by the ag22 grieved individual.

23 ‘‘(4) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy

24 provided under this subsection shall be in addition to

25 any other lawful remedy available to the individual.
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1 ‘‘(f) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who the Com3 missioner of Social Security determines has violated

4 this section shall be subject, in addition to any other

5 penalties that may be prescribed by law, to—

6 ‘‘(A) a civil money penalty of not more

7 than $25,000 for each such violation, and

8 ‘‘(B) a civil money penalty of not more

9 than $500,000, if violations have occurred with

10 such frequency as to constitute a general busi11 ness practice.

12 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS.— Any

13 violation committed contemporaneously with respect

14 to the social security account numbers of 2 or more

15 individuals by means of mail, telecommunication, or

16 otherwise shall be treated as a separate violation

17 with respect to each such individual.

18 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—The provi19 sions of section 1128A (other than subsections (a),

20 (b), (f), (h), (i), (j), and (m), and the first sentence

21 of subsection (c)) and the provisions of subsections

22 (d) and (e) of section 205 shall apply to civil money

23 penalties under this subsection in the same manner

24 as such provisions apply to a penalty or proceeding

25 under section 1128A(a), except that, for purposes of
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1 this paragraph, any reference in section 1128A to

2 the Secretary shall be deemed a reference to the

3 Commissioner of Social Security.

4 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH CRIMINAL ENFORCE5 MENT.—The Commissioner of Social Security shall

6 take such actions as are necessary and appropriate

7 to assure proper coordination of the enforcement of

8 the provisions of this section with criminal enforce9 ment under section 1028 of title 18, United States

10 Code (relating to fraud and related activity in con11 nection with identification documents). The Commis12 sioner shall enter into cooperative arrangements with

13 the Federal Trade Commission under section 5 of

14 the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act

15 of 1998 for purposes of achieving such coordination.

16 ‘‘(g) REGULATION BY STATES.—Nothing in this sec17 tion shall be construed to prohibit any State authority

18 from enacting or enforcing laws consistent with this sec19 tion for the protection of privacy.’’.

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

21 subsection (a) applies with respect to violations occurring

22 on and after the date which is 2 years after the date of

23 enactment of this Act.

24 (c) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.—Any

25 person who refuses to do business with an individual be-
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1 cause the individual will not consent to that person receiv2 ing the social security number of such individual shall be

3 considered to have committed an unfair or deceptive act

4 or practice in violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade

5 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45). Action may be taken

6 under such section 5 against such a person.

7 SEC. 4. RESTRICTION ON USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUM8 BERS BY STATE DEPARTMENTS OF MOTOR

9 VEHICLES.

10 (a) RESTRICTION ON GOVERNMENTAL USE.—Section

11 2721(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended

12 by striking ‘‘its functions.’’ and inserting ‘‘its functions,

13 but in the case of social security numbers, only to the ex14 tent permitted or required under section 205(c)(2) of the

15 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)), section 7(a)(2)

16 of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a note, 88 Stat.

17 1909), section 6109(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of

18 1986, or any other provision of law specifically identifying

19 such use.’’.

20 (b) PROHIBITION OF USE BY MARKETING COMPA21 NIES.—Section 2721(b)(12) of title 18, United States

22 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘For’’ and inserting ‘‘Except

23 in the case of social security numbers, for’’.
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1 SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS BY STATE

2 DEPARTMENTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2721 of title 18, United

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subsection:

6 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON RELEASE OR DISCLOSURE OF

7 AN INDIVIDUAL’S PHOTOGRAPH.—

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

9 and notwithstanding any paragraph of subsection

10 (b), an individual’s image, likeness, or photograph,

11 in any form or format, obtained by a State depart12 ment of motor vehicles in connection with a motor

13 vehicle record may not be disclosed or transferred by

14 such department, or any officer, employee, or con15 tractor of the department, to any other person, or

16 any other department or agency of any government,

17 without the express written consent of such indi18 vidual to that specific disclosure or transfer.

19 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION FOR DISCLOSURE TO LAW EN20 FORCEMENT AGENCIES.—Paragraph (1) shall not

21 apply to the disclosure of an individual’s image, like22 ness, or photograph, in any form or format, to any

23 law enforcement agency of any government for a

24 civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activ25 ity is authorized by law, and if the head of the agen26 cy has made a written request to the State depart-
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1 ment of motor vehicles which maintains the image,

2 likeness, or photograph specifying the particular

3 image, likeness, or photograph sought and the law

4 enforcement activity for which the image, likeness,

5 or photograph is sought.’’.

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) Section 2721 of title 18, United States

8 Code, is amended—

9 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub10 section (b),’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b) or

11 (e),’’;

12 (B) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘, other

13 than an individual’s image, likeness, or photo14 graph, in any form or format,’’ after ‘‘Personal

15 information referred to in subsection (a)’’.

16 (2) Section 2722(a) of title 18, United States

17 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 2721(b)’’ and

18 inserting ‘‘subsection (b) or (e) of section 2721’’.

19 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATING TO

20 DISTRIBUTION OF CONSUMER REPORTS IN

21 CONNECTION WITH CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

22 NOT INITIATED BY THE CONSUMER.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 604(c)

24 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(c))

25 is amended by striking ‘‘any credit or insurance trans-
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1 action that is not initiated by the consumer only if—’’ and

2 all that follows through the end of such paragraph and

3 inserting ‘‘any credit or insurance transaction that is not

4 initiated by the consumer only if the consumer provides

5 express written authorization, in accordance with para6 graph (2), to the agency to provide such report in connec7 tion with any such transaction.’’

8 (b) FULL DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.—Paragraph (2)

9 of section 604(c) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

10 U.S.C. 1681b(c)) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(2) FULL DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No authorization re13 ferred to in paragraph (1) with respect to any

14 consumer shall be effective unless the consumer

15 receives a notice before such authorization is

16 provided which fully and fairly discloses, in ac17 cordance with regulations which the Federal

18 Trade Commission and the Board of Governors

19 of the Federal Reserve System shall jointly pre20 scribe, what specifically is being authorized by

21 the consumer and the potential positive and

22 negative effects the provision of such authoriza23 tion will have on the consumer.

24 ‘‘(B) FORM OF NOTICE.—The regulations

25 prescribed pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall
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1 require that the notice required under such

2 subparagraph—

3 ‘‘(i) be prominently displayed on a

4 document which is separate from any other

5 document; or

6 ‘‘(ii) if the notice appears on a docu7 ment with other information, be placed in

8 a clear and conspicuous location on such

9 document and appear in type face which is

10 more conspicuous than the type face used

11 for any other information on such docu12 ment.’’.

13 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

14 Subsection (e) of section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(e) [Repealed]’’.

17 SEC. 7. SALE OR TRANSFER OF TRANSACTION OR EXPERI18 ENCE INFORMATION PROHIBITED.

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

20 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

21 the following new section:

22 ‘‘§ 626. Transaction or experience information

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person doing business with

24 a consumer may sell, transfer, or otherwise provide to any

25 other person, for the purpose of marketing such informa-
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1 tion to any other person, any transaction or experience

2 information without the consumer’s express written con3 sent.

4 ‘‘(b) TRANSACTION OR EXPERIENCE INFORMATION

5 DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘trans6 action or experience information’ means any information

7 identifying the content or subject of 1 or more trans8 actions between the consumer and a person doing business

9 with a consumer, including any component part of any

10 transaction, any brand name involved, or any quantity or

11 category of merchandise involved in any part of the trans12 action.

13 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply

14 with respect to the following:

15 ‘‘(1) Communication of transaction or experi16 ence information solely among persons related by

17 common ownership or affiliated by corporate control.

18 ‘‘(2) Information provided pursuant to the

19 order of a court having jurisdiction to issue such

20 order or pursuant to a subpoena issued in connec21 tion with proceedings before a Federal grand jury.

22 ‘‘(3) Information provided in connection with

23 the licensing or registration by a government agency

24 or department, or any transfer of such license or
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1 registration, of any personal property bought, sold,

2 or transferred by the consumer.

3 ‘‘(4) Information required to be provided in

4 connection with any transaction in real estate.

5 ‘‘(5) Information required to be provided in

6 connection with perfecting a security interest in per7 sonal property.

8 ‘‘(6) Information relating to the amount of any

9 transaction or any credit extended in connection

10 with a transaction with a consumer.

11 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

12 Section 603(d)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘(A) any—

13 ’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) subject to section 626, any—’’.

14 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

15 for the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by adding

16 at the end the following new item:

‘‘626. Transaction or experience information.’’.

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