UPDATE: 01/06/04

On January 1, a new anti-spam law went into effect, the result of just one of several steps taken during 2003 on the privacy front, as lawmakers and government agencies kept their eye on continuing concerns about how personal information is used by organizations and companies. With Congress and state legislatures reconvening this month, we want to take a brief look back over the past year. The focus on privacy issues will continue to present challenges in the coming year for Kids in the Know members who seek to communicate with children and families.

Besides the first-ever federal legislation to curtail spam, Congress also enacted new financial privacy legislation, amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act. And, in a contentious move, new regulations were issued that restrict sending unsolicited faxes.

Although little state privacy legislation moved last year, a number of bills were introduced that are of concern to Kids in the Know members. California again took the lead in passing comprehensive legislation.

FEDERAL ACTIVITY

Although privacy bills were introduced in Congress this year, action was limited due to the war in Iraq, tax cuts, and the Medicare debate that dominated the congressional agenda.

Sweeping Legislation. Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Stearns (R-FL), leading privacy advocates, introduced bills this year. The Feinstein legislation, S. 745, was introduced to combat identity theft and "give consumers more control over how their personal information is used." The broad legislation covers everything from the use of Social Security numbers, identity theft, the use of financial information, a number of other privacy issues, and broad and consuming notice requirements. H.R. 1636, introduced by Rep. Stearns, requires notice or privacy statements about the use of personally identifiable information, and a provision allowing consumers to limit disclosure of their information to third parties.

For more information on the Feinstein bill click here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:SN00745:@@@L&summ2=m&

For the Stearns bill click here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:HR01636:@@@L&summ2=m&

Federal Student Privacy Regulations. The Department of Education has yet to issue regulations needed to implement the student-privacy provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was signed into law in January 2002. Kids in the Know has been working with the Department to ensure that the regulations are not harmful to our members. The Department has indicated that they will not act on the regulations until at least early spring. Once draft regulations are issued, Kids in the Know will have to move rapidly to work with the Department to modify the regulations as needed and ensure that they are not harmful to our members.

Anti-Spam Act. While the anti-spam legislation signed into law by President Bush last month does not prohibit sending unsolicited messages, it requires an opt-out option for everyone who receives messages. The Act also orders the FTC to study the feasibility of a national Do-Not-Spam list, bans the sending of fraudulent e-mails or unmarked sexually oriented e-mails, and provides for civil and criminal sanctions for those spammers who breach the rules. The bill overrides existing state legislation. Some states, such as California, have laws specifically banning spam on the books.

Do-not-fax Regulations. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has delayed the effective date of new regulations governing unsolicited faxes until January 1, 2005. The rules, originally scheduled to take effect August 25, are a sweeping “opt-in” measure that requires prior written consent to send any faxes promoting any goods or services for which a fee is charged. Under the new regulations, there would be no exception for organizations that have an “established business relationship” with current customers or group members.

STATES:

California Legislation Passes. The legislation, which will take effect January 1, 2005, requires businesses to provide, upon request by an individual, a list of the types of personal information shared with third parties, and the names and addresses of the recipients of the personal information. Businesses must also post a privacy link on their Web site home page. The bill was altered to let businesses avoid disclosing what they share and who their customers are if they let a consumer opt out of information sharing for marketing purposes. Kids in the Know may seek to further modify this legislation in the upcoming year.

For more information on this legislation, click here:
http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgibin/postquery?bill_number=sb_27&sess=CUR&house=B&site=sen

Other states. The budget crisis that many states faced overwhelmed the legislatures and may have helped keep lawmakers from focusing on privacy bills of concern to Kids in the Know members. Many of these may be pushed again next year. States where action is most likely this year include California, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina.

For more information and past legislative updates, please see the Key Legislation section of the Kids in the Know Web site at www.kidsintheknow.org/legislat.htm.