EPIC, NCLC, and 45 Other Organizations Call on Congress to Strengthen Financial Privacy 

EPIC, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and 45 other civil society organizations submitted a letter in response to the House Financial Services Committee’s request for feedback on current consumer financial data privacy law and potential legislative proposals. Federal financial privacy laws often leave consumers’ sensitive financial information vulnerable, especially with the effective shuttering of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The letter urges the committee to strengthen financial privacy in the United States by requiring financial institutions to follow data minimization rules and obtain affirmative, opt-in consent to share consumer data with third parties. The letter also recommends that the committee refrain from amending the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or passing new privacy laws that preempt state privacy laws or prevent states from adopting new privacy protections. Further, the letter recommends the committee to strengthen the GLBA and other federal privacy laws by including a private right of action that would allow consumers to seek legal remedies when their rights are violated. 

In addition to the letter, EPIC and NCLC also submitted more detailed comments to the Committee in response to their request for feedback. The comments reiterate and expand on the recommendations made in the letter, emphasizing the importance of protecting the privacy and data security of financial information given the risk that financial data may be used to perpetuate fraud or to threaten national security. The comments urge Congress to strengthen financial privacy, preferably through a strong federal comprehensive privacy law rather than through amendments to existing, sector-specific financial privacy laws. 

EPIC routinely advocates for strong financial privacy protections. In addition to EPIC’s comments in support of the proposed Personal Financial Data Right rules submitted in January 2024, EPIC filed comments in support of the CFPB’s proposals related to medical debt and comments on the CFPB’s now withdrawn proposed revisions to Fair Credit Reporting Act rules, which among other changes would have clarified that data brokers must comply with FCRA. In December 2024, EPIC Executive Director Alan Butler testified before the House Financial Services Committee in a hearing entitled: “Innovation Revolution: How Technology is Shaping the Future of Finance.”