I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 948 
To strengthen the authority of the Federal Government to protect individuals 
from certain acts and practices in the sale and purchase of Social 
Security numbers and Social Security account numbers, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 8, 2007 
Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. RUSH, 
Mr. STEARNS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Ms. 
ESHOO, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. INSLEE, Ms. BALD-
WIN, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. WEINER, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, 
Mr. TERRY, Mr. BURGESS, and Mr. ENGEL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen the authority of the Federal Government to 
protect individuals from certain acts and practices in 
the sale and purchase of Social Security numbers and 
Social Security account numbers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Num-
ber Protection Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
(2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 
individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co-
operative, association, or any other entity. 
(3) SALE.—The term ‘‘sale’’ means obtaining, 
directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 
for a Social Security number or Social Security ac-
count number. Such term does not include the sub-
mission of such numbers as part of the process for 
applying for any type of Government benefit or pro-
grams (such as grant or loan applications or welfare 
or other public assistance programs). Such term also 
does not include transfers of such numbers as part 
of a data matching program under the Computer 
Matching and Privacy Protection Act. 
(4) PURCHASE.—The term ‘‘purchase’’ means 
providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in 
exchange for a Social Security number or Social Se-
curity account number. Such term does not include 
the submission of such numbers as part of the proc-
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ess for applying for any type of Government benefit 
or programs (such as grant or loan applications or 
welfare or other public assistance programs). Such 
term also does not include transfers of such numbers 
as part of a data matching program under the Com-
puter Matching and Privacy Protection Act. 
(5) SOCIAL
SECURITY
NUMBER.—The term 
‘‘Social Security number’’ means the social security 
account number assigned to an individual under sec-
tion 205(c)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(B)). 
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, and any territory or possession of the 
United States. 
SEC. 3. REGULATION OF THE SALE AND PURCHASE OF SO-
CIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per-
son to sell or purchase a Social Security number in a man-
ner that violates a regulation promulgated by the Commis-
sion under subsection (b) of this section. 
(b) REGULATIONS.— 
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(1) RESTRICTIONS
AUTHORIZED.—The Com-
mission, after consultation with the Commissioner of 
Social Security, the Attorney General, and other 
agencies as the Commission deems appropriate, shall 
promulgate regulations restricting the sale and pur-
chase of Social Security numbers and any unfair or 
deceptive acts or practices in connection with the 
sale and purchase of Social Security numbers. 
(2) LIMITATIONS ON RESTRICTIONS.—In pro-
mulgating such regulations, the Commission shall 
impose restrictions and conditions on the sale and 
purchase of Social Security numbers that are no 
broader than necessary— 
(A) to provide reasonable assurance that 
Social Security numbers will not be used to 
commit or facilitate fraud, deception, or crime; 
and 
(B) to prevent an undue risk of bodily, 
emotional, or financial harm to individuals. 
For purposes of subparagraph (B), the Commission 
shall consider the nature, likelihood, and severity of 
the anticipated harm; the nature, likelihood, and ex-
tent of any benefits that could be realized from the 
sale or purchase of the numbers; and any other rel-
evant factors. 
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(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The regulations promul-
gated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include excep-
tions which permit the sale and purchase of Social 
Security numbers— 
(A) to the extent necessary for law enforce-
ment or national security purposes; 
(B) to the extent necessary for public 
health purposes; 
(C) to the extent necessary in emergency 
situations to protect the health or safety of 1 
or more individuals; 
(D) to the extent necessary for research 
conducted for the purpose of advancing public 
knowledge, on the condition that the researcher 
provides adequate assurances that— 
(i) the Social Security numbers will 
not be used to harass, target, or publicly 
reveal information concerning any identifi-
able individuals; 
(ii) information about identifiable in-
dividuals obtained from the research will 
not be used to make decisions that directly 
affect the rights, benefits, or privileges of 
specific individuals; and 
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(iii) the researcher has in place appro-
priate safeguards to protect the privacy 
and confidentiality of any information 
about identifiable individuals; 
(E) to the extent consistent with an indi-
vidual’s voluntary and affirmative written con-
sent to the sale or purchase of a Social Security 
number that has been assigned to that indi-
vidual; 
(F) to the extent necessary for legitimate 
consumer credit verification, if the Social Secu-
rity numbers used for such verification are re-
dacted in accordance with uniform redaction 
standards established by the Commission in 
such regulations; and 
(G) under other appropriate circumstances 
as the Commission may determine and as are 
consistent with the principles in paragraph (2). 
(c) RULEMAKING.— 
(1) DEADLINE FOR ACTION.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall promulgate the regulations under 
subsection (b) of this section, in accordance with 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 
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(2) EFFECTIVE DATES.—Subsection (a) and the 
regulations promulgated under subsection (b) shall 
take effect 30 days after the date on which the final 
regulations issued under this section are published 
in the Federal Register. 
(d) ENFORCEMENT.—Any violation of a regulation 
promulgated under subsection (b) of this section shall be 
treated as a violation of a regulation under section 
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts 
or practices. 
(e) ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) THE COMMISSION.—The Commission shall 
prevent any person from violating this section, and 
any regulation promulgated thereunder, in the same 
manner, by the same means, and with the same ju-
risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applica-
ble terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com-
mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor-
porated into and made a part of this Act. Any per-
son who violates such regulation shall be subject to 
the penalties and entitled to the privileges and im-
munities provided in the Federal Trade Commission 
Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) as though all applicable 
terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commis-
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sion Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated 
into and made a part of this Act. Nothing contained 
in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority 
of the Commission under any other provision of law. 
(2) ACTIONS BY STATES.— 
(A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in which 
the attorney general of a State has reason to 
believe that an interest of the residents of that 
State has been or is threatened or adversely af-
fected by an act or practice that violates any 
regulation of the Commission promulgated 
under subsection (b), the State, as parens 
patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of 
the residents of the State in a district court of 
the United States of appropriate jurisdiction, 
to— 
(i) enjoin that act or practice; 
(ii) enforce compliance with the regu-
lation; 
(iii) obtain civil penalties in an 
amount of $11,000 per violation not to ex-
ceed a total of $5,000,000; or 
(iv) obtain such other legal and equi-
table relief as the district court may con-
sider to be appropriate. 
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Before filing an action under this subsection, 
the attorney general of the State involved shall 
provide to the Commission and to the Attorney 
General a written notice of that action and a 
copy of the complaint for that action. If the 
State attorney general determines that it is not 
feasible to provide the notice described in this 
subparagraph before the filing of the action, the 
State attorney general shall provide the written 
notice and the copy of the complaint to the 
Commission and to the Attorney General as 
soon after the filing of the complaint as prac-
ticable. 
(B) COMMISSION AND ATTORNEY GENERAL 
AUTHORITY.—On receiving notice under sub-
paragraph (A), the Commission and the Attor-
ney General each shall have the right— 
(i) to move to stay the action, pending 
the final disposition of a pending Federal 
matter as described in subparagraph (c); 
(ii) to intervene in an action under 
clause (I); 
(iii) upon so intervening, to be heard 
on all matters arising therein; and 
(iv) to file petitions for appeal. 
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(C) PENDING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—If 
the Attorney General has instituted a criminal 
proceeding or the Commission has instituted a 
civil action for a violation of this Act or any 
regulations thereunder, no State may, during 
the pendency of such proceeding or action, 
bring an action under this section against any 
defendant named in the criminal proceeding or 
civil action for any violation of this section that 
is alleged in that proceeding or action. 
(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For pur-
poses of bringing any civil action under sub-
paragraph (A), nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to prevent an attorney general of a State 
from exercising the powers conferred on the at-
torney general by the laws of that State to con-
duct investigations, administer oaths and affir-
mations, or compel the attendance of witnesses 
or the production of documentary and other evi-
dence. 
(E) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Any 
action brought under this section may be 
brought in any district court of the United 
States that meets applicable requirements relat-
ing to venue under section 1391 of title 28, 
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United States Code. In an action brought under 
this section, process may be served in any dis-
trict in which the defendant is an inhabitant or 
may be found. 
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
This Act supersedes any provision of a statute, regu-
lation, or rule of a State or political subdivision of a State 
that expressly restricts or prohibits the sale or purchase 
of Social Security numbers in a manner consistent with 
the regulations promulgated under section 3(b). 
Æ 
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