Useless But Compelling Facts - June 2009 Answer
Last month we tried to stimulate your thinking about the origins of the privacy provisions of Gramm-Leach-Bliley—an afterthought to the original purposes of the Act. Congratulations to Matthew Krigbaum, Assistant General Counsel of Transamerica Capital Management, a long-time fan and loyal Legal Bytes follower, for getting the right answer, first. Originally, GLBA did not contain privacy provisions (Title V), but during a “mark up” session in the Commerce Committee, Rep. Markey (D-Col.) introduced an amendment adding these privacy protections. While it originally looked as if the amendment might not get anywhere, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) unexpectedly announced his support and . . well, you know the rest. It appears that Rep. Barton became concerned about his own privacy when Victoria’s Secret catalogs began to show up at his Washington, D.C., residence, raising his suspicion that his credit union had shared his address with Victoria’s Secret.
