Identity Theft Consumer Notification Act

Identity Theft Consumer Notification Act - Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to require that a financial institution to disclose annually to its customers its statutory obligation to: (1) promptly notify the customer if nonpublic personal information has been compromised or misused; (2) help the customer to remedy such compromise, including correcting and updating information contained in a consumer report relating to such customer; (3) reimburse the customer for losses incurred as a result of the compromise or misuse of the information, including fees for obtaining, investigating, and correcting a consumer report on the customer at any consumer reporting agency; and (4) provide information on how the consumer can obtain assistance.

Sets forth penalties for the failure of a financial institution to perform its disclosure obligations.

Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to grant Federal district courts jurisdiction for an action to enforce liability without regard to amount in controversy, in addition to courts of competent jurisdiction.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5474 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5474

  To amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to further protect customers of 
 financial institutions whose identities are stolen from the financial 
                  institution, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2002

  Mr. Kleczka (for himself and Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to further protect customers of 
 financial institutions whose identities are stolen from the financial 
                  institution, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Identity Theft Consumer Notification 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINANCIAL INSTITUTION'S OBLIGATION TO PROMPTLY NOTIFY AND 
              ASSIST CUSTOMERS WHOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION IS 
              COMPROMISED.

    (a) Prompt Notice and Assistance.--Section 503(b) of the Gramm-
Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6803(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (3);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) a statement that, upon discovering that the 
        confidentiality or security of any nonpublic personal 
        information maintained by the financial institution with 
        respect to consumer has been compromised in any way by an 
        employee of the financial institution, or through any 
        unauthorized entry into the records of the financial 
        institution, the financial institution is obligated--
                    ``(A) to promptly notify the consumer of the 
                compromise of the security or confidentiality of such 
                information, and any misuse of such information, that 
                the financial institution discovers or reasonably 
                should discover has occurred;
                    ``(B) to provide assistance to the consumer to 
                remedy any such compromise, including the duty of the 
                financial institution under the Fair Credit Reporting 
                Act to correct and update information contained in a 
                consumer report relating to such consumer;
                    ``(C) to reimburse the consumer for any losses the 
                consumer incurred as a result of the compromise of the 
                security or confidentiality of such information, and 
                any misuse of such information, including any fees for 
                obtaining, investigating, and correcting a consumer 
                report of such consumer at any consumer reporting 
                agency; and
                    ``(D) to provide information concerning the manner 
                in which the consumer can obtain such assistance.''.
    (b) Waiver of Disclosure at Request of Law Enforcement Agency For 
Limited Time.--Section 503 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 
6803) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Waiver of Disclosure at Request of Law Enforcement Agency For 
Limited Time.--A financial institution may delay notifying a consumer 
that the confidentiality or security of any nonpublic personal 
information of the consumer maintained by the financial institution has 
been compromised at the request of a law enforcement agency 
investigating such violation for such limited period of time as the law 
enforcement agency determines is essential for carrying out the 
investigation.''.
    (c) Penalties For Failure to Notify Customers of Identity Theft.--
Section 503 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6803) is amended 
by inserting after subsection (c) (as added by subsection (b) of this 
section) the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Penalties For Failure to Notify and Assist Customers After 
Identity Theft.--The failure of any financial institution to promptly 
notify any consumer that the confidentiality or security of any 
nonpublic personal information of the consumer maintained by the 
financial institution has been compromised in any way by an employee of 
the financial institution or through any unauthorized entry into the 
records of the financial institution, to provide assistance to such 
consumer, or to reimburse the consumer for any loss or fee described 
subsection (b)(5)(C) shall be treated as a violation of--
            ``(1) this title for purposes of enforcement actions 
        required under section 505; and
            ``(2) the requirements of section 623(a)(2) of the Fair 
        Credit Reporting Act to correct and update information 
        concerning the consumer in a consumer report at a consumer 
        reporting agency.''.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT.

    Section 618 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681p) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 618. JURISDICTION OF COURTS; LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--An action to enforce any liability created under 
this title may be brought in any appropriate United States district 
court, without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other 
court of competent jurisdiction, not later than 2 years after the date 
on which the violation is discovered or should have been discovered by 
the exercise of reasonable diligence.
    ``(b) Willful Misrepresentation.--The limitations period prescribed 
in subsection (a) shall be tolled during any period during which a 
defendant has materially and willfully misrepresented any information 
required under this title to be disclosed to an individual, and the 
information so misrepresented is material to the establishment of the 
liability of the defendant to that individual under this title.''.
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