The Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act: The
Financial Privacy Rule
The Commission's Financial Privacy
Rule ("Privacy Rule") was issued to satisfy one of the
three main requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
(the others: Safeguards and Pretexting).
The Privacy Rule applies to “financial institutions.”
Under the FTC's jurisdiction, such institutions include
nonbank companies that engage in a wide array of
"financial activities" such as: lending; brokering or
servicing any type of consumer loan; transferring or
safeguarding money; preparing individual tax returns;
providing financial advice or credit counseling;
providing residential real estate settlement services;
collecting consumer debts; and various other activities.
For a list of the covered financial activities, please
visit the Laws and Rules
section of this page.
The Financial Privacy Rule requires financial
institutions to give their customers privacy notices
that explain the financial institution’s information
collection and sharing practices. In turn, customers
have the right to limit some sharing of their
information. Also, financial institutions and other
companies that receive personal financial information
from a financial institution may be limited in their
ability to use that information.
The Federal Trade Commission is one of eight federal
agencies that, along with the states,
are
responsible for developing a consistent regulatory
framework to administer and enforce the Financial
Privacy Rule.
The eight federal agencies have issued an Advance Notice of Public Rulemaking to consider the development of alternative forms of privacy notices for consumers. The FTC is soliciting public comments on the feasibility, design, and content for a short notice and requesting applicable research.
For a summary overview of the Financial Privacy Rule, be
sure to see
In Brief: The Financial Privacy
Requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
You will find the following information on the Financial
Privacy Rule here: the laws and regulations,
business
education materials and
staff guidance on
specific technical issues, consumer education
materials and information about
GLB Workshops. In
addition, you will find information on GLB Act
preemption determination requests submitted to the
Commission. |