PRIVACY NEWS UPDATE #2
IN THIS UPDATE:
1) 171,268 sign online petition against Know Your Customer!
2) Know Your Customer is wounded - but is it really dead?
3) Will the real "Know Your Customer" repeal legislation please stand up!
4) More cosponsors for HR 516: "The Know Your Customer Sunset Act"
5) Quote of the week
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Here's what's going on with the FDIC's proposed
"Know Your Customer" regulation:
1) 171,268 signed online petition against Know Your Customer!
The FDIC received over 250,000 letters, e-mail messages, and faxes during
its public comment period, which ended on March 8. Of those, 171,268 were
generated by the online petition at http://www.DefendYourPrivacy.com! This
represents over 67% of all the comments received by the FDIC! Thank you for
your help in this vital fight for personal privacy.
The success of this cyber-campaign has been noted in articles in Wired,
World Net Daily, and the New York Times. Visit the media page at
http://www.DefendYourPrivacy.com for links to these and other articles
about the campaign and Know Your Customer.
2) Know Your Customer is wounded - but is it really dead?
On March 8, the head of the FDIC announced that "the public has spoken very
loudly and clearly." Chairwoman Donna Tanoue said that she will urge the
FDIC's board to drop the controversial rule at their next meeting,
scheduled for March 23.
However, only two of the four agencies that originally sponsored Know Your
Customer have said that the regulation should be scraped. While both the
FDIC and the Comptroller of the Currency have spoken against the
regulation, neither the Office of Thrift Supervision nor the Federal
Reserve has taken a public position. All four agencies had proposed nearly
identical versions of Know Your Customer regulations.
In addition, an FDIC spokesman had stated previously that the agency might
withdraw the regulation, but implement Know Your Customer-style
requirements as a "policy" instead. That's why it's too soon to claim the
rule is DOA. Even if the FDIC decides to kill it, which hasn't happened
yet, the same bureaucrats who first proposed this dangerous regulation
could quietly bring it back after the public outcry has subsided.
3) Will the real "Know Your Customer" repeal legislation please stand up!
In the wake of the public outcry against Know Your Customer, it seems like
everyone in Congress is leaping forward to claim credit for killing it.
But, how many of these repeal efforts actually accomplished anything?
In the House Banking Committee, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) sponsored amendment 8
to HR 10 that would have prohibited the FDIC from implementing any form of
Know Your Customer regulation. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) and Richard Baker
(R-AL) introduced a much weaker substitute amendment that ultimately passed
the committee. The Barr-Baker amendment would block the current Know Your
Customer proposal, but leave the door open for similar proposals in the
future. Barr spoke against the tougher version in committee. The bill still
has to be approved by the full House and Senate, and be signed by the
President, before becoming law.
The U.S. Senate voted 88-0 to ask the FDIC to withdraw its proposed Know
Your Customer rule. While symbolically important, the resolution lacks the
force of law, and doesn't repeal the authority of the FDIC and other
financial institutions to impose Know Your Customer regulations.
Thus far, HR 516, introduced by Rep. Paul, is the only bill that would
immediately terminate all Know Your Customer regulations, and prevent any
similar regulation in the future.
4) More cosponsors for HR 516: "The Know Your Customer Sunset Act"
Support for HR 516, "The Know Your Customer Sunset Act", is bipartisan and
growing rapidly. The bill now has 47 cosponsors, including influential
members like Majority Whip Tom Delay and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry
Hyde. Information on HR 516, including a complete list of cosponsors, is
now available at http://www.DefendYourPrivacy.com. We also plan to begin a
new petition campaign to build support for legislation to permanently stop
Know Your Customer. In the meantime, contact your local Congressman and ask
him to cosponsor HR 516.
The office of Rep. Paul will host a Congressional staff briefing ("Should
We Require Banks to Spy on Their Customers?") on Friday, March 19th.
5) Quote of the week - By Joseph Farah, World Net Daily
"While the unanimous vote by the Senate and the likely
withdrawal of the "Know Your Customer" proposal at the
FDIC are developments worth cheering about, they will
represent nothing more than temporary victories for
freedom and constitutional rights. The government will be
back. There will be new attempts to find out how you are
spending the small amount of money your "public servants"
permit you to keep. When you least expect it, they will be
back in your pocket and snooping in your private affairs
once again."
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-- a (a@a.a), March 17, 1999