Consumer Financial Services Law Report
Jamie Court, a consumer advocate, executive director of Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, and author of Corporateering: How Corporate Power Steals Your Personal Freedom. What You Can Do About It,” says President Bush favors federal preemption over California’s new privacy law. What’s more, Court claims the Bush Administration has been backing out of campaign pledges to protect American’s privacy in favor of federal legislation that would override California’s stronger privacy measure.
As evidence of the president’s dislike of California’s recent initiative and broken campaign promises, Court points to the administration’s efforts to reauthorize the Fair Credit Reporting Act. A clause in the act would preempt California’s strong privacy law, Court says, and allow personal information to flow freely between affiliated companies.
The FCRA is the subject of H.R. 2622. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 is designed to amend the FCRA, to prevent identity theft, improve resolution of consumer disputes, improve the accuracy of consumer records, and make improvements in the use of, and consumer access to, credit information. Sponsored by Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala. the bill came out of the
House Committee on Financial Services in July and is expected to receive immediate attention as the FCRA is scheduled to expire Jan. 1, 2004.
For more information contact Court at (310) 874-9989 or see http://www.consumerwatchdog.org
