Sec. 303. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers
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/bill/113/s/676/is/section-303A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1028A the following: In this section: The term display means to intentionally communicate or otherwise make available (on the Internet or in any other manner) to the general public an individual’s Social Security number. The term person means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or any other entity. The term purchase means providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange for a Social Security number.
The term sale means obtaining, directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange for a Social Security number. The term State means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and any territory or possession of the United States. No person may display any individual’s Social Security number to the general public without the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person may sell or purchase any individual’s Social Security number without the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. In order for consent to exist under subsection
(b)or (c), the person displaying or seeking to display, selling or attempting to sell, or purchasing or attempting to purchase, an individual’s Social Security number shall— inform the individual of the general purpose for which the number will be used, the types of persons to whom the number may be available, and the scope of transactions permitted by the consent; and obtain the affirmatively expressed consent (electronically or in writing) of the individual. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of a Social Security number— required, authorized, or excepted under any Federal law; for a public health purpose, including the protection of the health or safety of an individual in an emergency situation; for a national security purpose; for a law enforcement purpose, including the investigation of fraud and the enforcement of a child support obligation; if the display, sale, or purchase of the number is for a use occurring as a result of an interaction between businesses, governments, or business and government (regardless of which entity initiates the interaction), including, but not limited to— the prevention of fraud (including fraud in protecting an employee’s right to employment benefits); the facilitation of credit checks or the facilitation of background checks of employees, prospective employees, or volunteers; the retrieval of other information from other businesses, commercial enterprises, government entities, or private nonprofit organizations; or when the transmission of the number is incidental to, and in the course of, the sale, lease, franchising, or merger of all, or a portion of, a business; if the transfer of such a number is part of a data matching program involving a Federal, State, or local agency; or if such number is required to be submitted as part of the process for applying for any type of Federal, State, or local government benefit or program; except that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed as permitting a professional or commercial user to display or sell a Social Security number to the general public. Nothing in this section shall prohibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers as permitted under title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or for the purpose of affiliate sharing as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act , except that no entity regulated under such Acts may make Social Security numbers available to the general public, as may be determined by the appropriate regulators under such Acts. For purposes of this subsection, the general public shall not include affiliates or unaffiliated third-party business entities as may be defined by the appropriate regulators. . The chapter analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1028 the following: 1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers. . The Attorney General shall conduct a study and prepare a report on all of the uses of Social Security numbers permitted, required, authorized, or excepted under any Federal law. The report shall include a detailed description of the uses allowed as of the date of enactment of this Act, the impact of such uses on privacy and data security, and shall evaluate whether such uses should be continued or discontinued by appropriate legislative action. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall report to Congress findings under this subsection. The report shall include such recommendations for legislation based on criteria the Attorney General determines to be appropriate. The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the final regulations promulgated under section 5 are published in the Federal Register.