IP: Judge imposes strict limits on credit reporting firms

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

>From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
>---
>See also:
>http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,24284,00.html
>---
>
>"Judge Upholds Tough New Restrictions on Sales of Certain Personal-Credit
>Data"
>Wall Street Journal (05/08/01) P. A28; Simpson, Glenn R.
>
>Effective July 1, consumer data firms must get permission from
>consumers before selling their credit data, including names,
>addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers, according
>to an April 30 ruling from Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle.  The
>judge's ruling clarifies a vague passage in the 1999
>Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that places restrictions on the trade of
>"personally identifiable financial information."  Huvelle's
>ruling affirms the government's position that the header and all
>other parts of a credit report fall under the scope of this
>passage.  The credit industry had been arguing that names,
>addresses, and other personal data did not qualify as "personally
>identifiable financial information."  Indeed, Huvelle said that
>the passage was ambiguous but ruled nonetheless that lawmakers
>had crafted the bill to provide "especially broad privacy
>protections."  Direct Marketing Association spokesman Lou Mastria
>warned that the ruling would hit marketers hard in the pocket
>book.
>
>
[ do they, Direct Marketing, ever warn that their practices will and have 
HIT citizens hard also



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