Fair Credit Reporting Act and Privacy

[tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)]

[I urge people to put thread names in the subject lines, and not just leave
the subjects as "Re:" or "Your mail." I have added a subject line.]

At 5:58 AM 2/5/96, Karl Ike wrote:
>It is impossible to get changes in the Fair Credit Reporting Act in the
>traditional way. Credit reporting agencies have far too much personal
>information that is passed out with incrediable ease at the consumers expense.
>
>I have a suggestion!
>
>Today, with TRW, Equifax and TransUnion's vast network, it is easy to obtain
>anyone's credit report from various sources. Do you think if someone,
>outside of the USA, obtained the credit reports on half, maybe all, of the
>US Senators, congressmen, judges, etc, and published them in their entirity,
>on the internet, from outside the US, would get their attention? Then there
>would be changes, overnight, protecting the right of privacy! Let them
>become the victim of credit reporting agencies once and shit will happen
>overnight.

"Protecting the right of privacy"? If I tell Joe Bob that you welshed on a
debt made in the past, something that the person you welshed on has
informed me of, how is this a violation of your right of privacy?

Better yet, abolish the laws about so-called "Fair Credit Reporting."

If Tim's Pretty Good Credit Reporting knows that Joe Blow filed for
bankruptcy in 1975, by what right should men with guns come to his file
cabinets and announce that he may not reveal true information that is older
than, say, 8 years? Facts are facts. Not just for 8 years, or even 20
years. Debts incurred 30 years ago and not paid may still be useful bits of
information in deciding whether to extend credit to a person.

And even possibly untrue things are not the main justification for the
FCRA. The FCRA is _not_ primarily designed to correct wrong information,
but to place time limits on correct information. It limits speech. And it
interferes with rational economic decisions.

Fortunately, strong crypto and cyberspatial data havens will make
enforcement of the FCRA increasingly difficult.

--Tim


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