U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines reintroduced a bipartisan bill to require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to remove personally identifiable information (PII), which includes social security and passport numbers, from public disclosure. Currently the PII is disclosed in the CBP manifest disclosure process.
“Montanans and the American people need assurance that their private information is safeguarded from all threats,” Daines said. “This commonsense legislation ensures transparency as well as security in protecting our citizens from identity theft and fraud.”
Daines introduced the bipartisan bill with Senators Peters, Lankford, Hoeven, and Sullivan. There is companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Background:
Currently, CBP requires manifest sheets, which includes PII, in order to disclose and document the cargo of incoming vessels for customs and security purposes. In 1984, the public disclosure of certain manifest information was required. The original intent of this provision was to increase competition, to facilitate better public analysis of import trends, and allow port authorities and transportation companies to more easily identify potential customers and changes in their industries. However, in recent years, PII of relocating individuals has been released, enabling identity theft, credit card fraud, and unwanted solicitations.
Daines first introduced the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act on May 1st, 2017.
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