Statements To House Social Security Subcommittee On Identity Theft and SSNs

Several of the written statements to the House Social Security Subcommittee for today's hearing on protecting the privacy of Social Security numbers from identity theft are now available online. The statement of Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center contains this interesting information:

H.R. 948, the Social Security Number Protection Act of 2007, has passed before the Committee on Energy and Commerce and has been reported to the House. The purpose of H.R. 948 is to prohibit the display and purchase of Social Security numbers in interstate commerce pursuant to rules to be promulgated. ...

Sections 3(a)(1) through (3)(a)(3) of H.R. 948 create a facially broad prohibition on the public display of Social Security numbers on the Internet, the requirement to use an individual’s Social Security number as a password for access to any goods or services, and the display of Social Security cards on any membership or identity card. However, Section 3(c) grants the Federal Trade Commission open-ended authority to promulgate exceptions to the prohibitions contained within the bill.