新经济隐私权法的惊人功效.pdf

11/25/2002 11:27 PM

The Surprising Virtues of the New Financial
Privacy Law
Peter P. Swire†
The financial privacy law passed by Congress in 1999 has
been the target of scathing criticism. On one side, banks and
other financial institutions plained about the high
costs of the billions of notices sent to consumers, apparently to
widespread consumer On the other side, privacy
advocates have condemned the law as woefully weak, and some
have argued that its so-called privacy provisions actually re-
sulted in weakening privacy
This paper disagrees with the criticisms. The new finan-
cial privacy law, known more formally as Title V of the Gramm-
Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, works surprisingly well as privacy
legislation. It does so in ways that address legitimate industry
concerns about excessive cost and barriers to needed informa-
tion. In addition, the ability of states to draft additional legis-
lation in the area means that an effective mechanism exists to
correct the key weaknesses of the law over time.

† Professor of Law, the Moritz College of Law of the Ohio State Univer-
sity. From March, 1999 to January, 2001 I served as Chief Counselor for Pri-
vacy in the . Office of Management and Budget. My thanks to helpful
comments from participants in the Minnesota Law Review Symposium on Pri-
vacy. My thanks also ments by Rick Fischer, Lauren Steinfeld, and
Art Wilmarth, and to Larry Glasser for research assistance.
1. For instance, one estimate was that the financial privacy rules would
require billion consumer disclosure statements annually, with pli-
ance cost pliance (which I believe is high) of $ billion. Michele
Heller, Banks Want More Time on Reform’s Privacy Rules, AM. BANKER, Apr.
12, 2000, at 3.
2. Frank Torres, legislative counsel for Consumers Union and an active
participant in the legislative debates, bluntly described the new privacy law:
“The mu