The Integrity News
Vol. XI No. 16 ISSN 1081-2717 June 11, 2002
Decided: June 10, 2002
The U.S. Supreme Court, by
denying a writ of certiorari,
has upheld a Circuit Court
ruling in favor of the Federal
Trade Commission's (FTC)
enforcement of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA).
Consumer Reports can ONLY be
used if one has the subject's prior
written permission.
IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS ILLEGAL
TO OBTAIN OR USE DATABASE
INFORMATION WITHOUT THE
SUBJECT'S PRIOR WRITTEN
PERMISSION.
"The Supreme Court on Monday
denied the appeal of one of the
three major credit bureaus to
hear a case involving the sale of
"tradelines" --- information that
includes name, address, date of
birth, telephone number, Social
Security Number, account type,
opening date of account, credit
limit, account status, and payment
history. The Circuit Court had
ruled that the credit bureau could not
sell "tradelines" for marketing
purposes because they constituted
a credit report for purposes of the
FCRA. The Circuit Court also
rejected the credit union's claims that
target marketing based on credit
reports is protected by the First
and Fifth Amendments."
Editor's Note:
This Supreme Court ruling should
make the following very clear to
individuals and employers: the
database vendors who advertise on
TV and on the Internet, saying that
it is OK to check on anyone, anywhere,
at any time because the information
is from "public records" are in fact
committing an ILLEGAL act. And,
any individuals who use those illegal
reports are also committing an
ILLEGAL act. Both are subject to
large fines.
The Supreme Court ruling addresses
the economic issue. The case was
appealed by the credit union because they
were sued in, and lost, a class action suit
by the FTC on behalf of the 190 million
individuals in their database. Each
willful violation carries a fine between
$100 and $1,000, thus making the
potential liability to the credit bureau is
$190 Billion dollars. This crushing
liability would bankrupt the credit
bureau.
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