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SUBCOMMITTEES: Privacy, Copyright, and Permission to Link Statement |
Committee on Ways and Means For Immediate Release GAO Report Confirms Social Security Numbers Need More Protections Shaw Intends to Move Bipartisan Legislation to Better Secure Privacy WASHINGTON -- In a recently-issued report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) confirmed that Social Security numbers (SSNs) need better protections. In response to the GAO’s report Social Security Numbers: Government Benefits from SSN Use but Could Provide Better Safeguards, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman E. Clay Shaw (R-FL) said, “We know identity theft is on the rise. Too often the perpetrators of these crimes prey on our most vulnerable citizens who are confused as to what their privacy rights really are. We need to do a better job of getting that information out to people who are unwittingly handing over highly sensitive personal information.” Shaw also added, “Most alarming is that government agencies are increasingly putting SSNs on the Internet. We cannot allow this to happen. My bipartisan legislation, the Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Protection Act of 2001 (H.R. 2036), restricts the display of SSNs by Federal, State and local governments and implements other critically important SSN safeguards.” Chairman Shaw intends to move his legislation to the House floor this year. GAO reported that Federal, State, and local government agencies are not consistently complying with the Privacy Act’s requirement to tell individuals how their SSNs will be used and whether they are required to provide the number - the “first line of defense against improper disclosure because it allows SSN holders to make informed decisions about whether to provide their SSN to obtain the services in question [p.3].” In addition, GAO found that, “although agencies that use SSNs to provide benefits and services are taking steps to safeguard the numbers from improper disclosure, our survey identified potential weaknesses in the security of information systems at all levels of government [p.3].” GAO also noted that SSNs can be found in “public records” that are available to anyone requesting information under “open records” laws. Public records have traditionally been in paper form, which acts as a “natural deterrent” to their disclosure [p.44]. But, GAO found that “increasing numbers of departments are moving toward placing more information on the Internet.” In fact, GAO reported that “several officials . . . described their goals for having records available electronically within the next few years.” [p. 40] GAO made two major points concerning the possibility that records containing SSNs will soon be on the Internet. First, “[w]ithout some kind of forethought about the inherent risk posed by making SSNs and other personal information available on the Internet, it is possible that SSNs will become increasingly available to the general public via the Internet.” [p. 44] Second, “the issues of whether the traditional rules of public access should apply to electronic records, particularly those found on the Internet, is both urgent and vital. Without policies specifying ways to safeguard SSNs on the Internet, the potential for compromising individuals’ privacy and the potential for SSN misuse will increase significantly.” [p. 47]
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