June 22, 2008

And they say people are too suspicious...

Can you imagine the sheer amount of data? And how tempting it would be to crack the security? And the burden on small business?

Washington, DC - Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.

Call Congress and Tell Them to Oppose The eBay Reporting Provision in the Housing Bill: 1-866-928-3035

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay's PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America's small businesses are breathtaking."

"Privacy groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology and small business organizations like the NFIB sharply criticized this idea when it first appeared earlier this year. What is the federal government's purpose with this kind of detailed data? How will this database be secured, and who will have access? Many small proprietors use their Social Security number as their tax ID. How will their privacy be protected? What compliance costs will this impose on businesses? Why is Sen. Chris Dodd putting this provision in a housing bailout bill? The bill also includes the creation of a new national fingerprint registry for mortgage brokers.

"At a time when concerns about both identity theft and government spying are paramount, Congress wants to create a new honey pot of private data that includes Social Security numbers. This bill reduces privacy across America's payment processing systems and treats every American small business or eBay power seller like a criminal on parole by requiring an unprecedented level of reporting to the federal government. This outrageous idea is another reason to delay the housing bailout legislation so that Senators and the public at large have time to examine its full implications."

HT

Posted by binky at June 22, 2008 04:43 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Economics | Liberty | Politics | You Can't Make This Stuff Up


Comments

ANd here's a nice side dish to go with that main course of WTF.

Posted by: binky at June 23, 2008 12:35 AM | PERMALINK

Sen. Reid is trying to pass this bill under the radar by invoking a cloture vote at 11:00am EST.

We have less than ONE hour to stop this thing!!!

Call your Senators at 1-866-928-3035 and tell them to vote NO.

Posted by: Nevis at June 24, 2008 10:39 AM | PERMALINK
Post a comment









Remember personal info?