Opinion ID: 185752
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Definition of Personally Identifiable Financial Information

Text: 16 Next, Trans Union challenges the FTC's definition of PIFI. Both the GLBA and the regulations define NPI 5 in terms of PIFI. The GLBA does not define PIFI but the FTC regulations define the term to mean 17 any information: 18 (i) A consumer provides to you [the financial institution] to obtain a financial product or service from you; 19 (ii) About a consumer resulting from any transaction involving a financial product or service between you and a consumer; or 20 (iii) You otherwise obtain about a consumer in connection with providing a financial product or service to that consumer. 21 16 C.F.R. § 313.3( o )(1)(i)-(iii). 6 This broad definition of PIFI treat[s] any personally identifiable information as financial if it was obtained by a financial institution in connection with providing a financial product or service to a consumer. 65 Fed. Reg. at 33,658. Trans Union challenges the definition on two grounds, both of which we reject. 22 First, Trans Union asserts the FTC's definition of PIFI is ultra vires because the GLBA does not expressly confer authority to define PIFI as it does the term publicly available information. See 15 U.S.C. § 6809(4)(B) (term nonpublic personal information does not include publicly available information, as such term is defined by the regulations prescribed under section 6804 of this title). We disagree. Where ... Congress enacts an ambiguous provision within a statute entrusted to the agency's expertise, it has `implicitly delegated to the agency the power to fill those gaps.' County of Los Angeles v. Shalala, 192 F.3d 1005, 1016 (D.C.Cir.1999) (quoting National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. v. FERC, 811 F.2d 1563, 1569 (D.C.Cir.1987); citing Chevron, 467 U.S. at 843-44, 104 S.Ct. at 2782); see also Women Involved in Farm Economics v. USDA, 876 F.2d 994, 1000-01 (D.C.Cir.1989) (noting the presumptive delegation to agencies of authority to define ambiguous or imprecise terms we apply under the Chevron doctrine), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1019, 110 S.Ct. 717, 107 L.Ed.2d 737 (1990). Thus, 23 administrative implementation of a particular statutory provision qualifies for Chevron deference when it appears that Congress delegated authority to the agency generally to make rules carrying the force of law, and that the agency interpretation claiming deference was promulgated in the exercise of that authority. Delegation of such authority may be shown in a variety of ways, as by an agency's power to engage in adjudication or notice-and-comment rulemaking, or by some other indication of a comparable congressional intent. 24 United States v. Mead Corp., 533 U.S. 218, 226-27, 121 S.Ct. 2164, 2171, 150 L.Ed.2d 292 (2001). The GLBA is silent on the meaning of PIFI and, as is apparent from the parties' differing positions and from our discussion of the term's meaning infra, the term itself is not without ambiguity. Accordingly, we conclude that the FTC is authorized to define PIFI and that its definition is entitled to Chevron deference, given the broad rulemaking authority the GLBA confers on the FTC (and the other agencies) to prescribe ... such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of [the act] with respect to the financial institutions subject to their jurisdiction under section 6805 of this title. 15 U.S.C. § 6804(a)(1). 25 Trans Union next challenges the FTC's definition of PIFI insofar as it encompasses information appearing in consumer credit report headers, such as name, address, telephone number and social security number, which, Trans Union contends, is not financial information and therefore does not come within the GLBA's definition of NPI as personally identifiable financial information. 15 U.S.C. § 6809(4)(A) (emphasis added). Because, as noted above, the GLBA is silent on the meaning of PIFI, we review the FTC's interpretation of the term under Chevron only to determine if it is a permissible one. We conclude that it is. 26 Trans Union contends the term financial in PIFI must be given its plain meaning and therefore must be applied only to information that describes [an individual's] financial condition. Appellant's Br. at 21. We disagree. The dictionary defines financial expansively to mean relating to finance and financiers. Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary 851 (1993); see also V Oxford English Dictionary 921 (2d ed.1989) (defining financial as [o]f, pertaining, or relating to finance or money matters). Given the breadth of the definition, we cannot conclude the Congress unambiguously intended the restrictive plain meaning Trans Union espouses. Similarly, we cannot rule out the FTC's broad interpretation of financial to encompass any information that is requested by a financial institution for the purpose of providing a financial product or service, 65 Fed.Reg. at 33,658, inasmuch as all such information can be fairly characterized as relating to finance and financiers. The FTC explained that its approach is consistent with the broad definition of `financial institution' used in the statute, which encompasses not only traditional financial activities (such as banks, mortgage lenders, finance companies), but also a large number of entities that engage in activities not traditionally considered financial (such as financial career counselors, insurance companies, and data processors). 65 Fed.Reg. at 33,658. While the FTC could have defined financial more narrowly, the meaning it chose is nevertheless a permissible one. Accordingly, under Chevron, we defer to the FTC's interpretation.