08
Mar
2000
The Senate Majority has released the report of its task force on privacy, including more than 50 different policy recommendations.
At a news conference Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said the task force had investigated a range of privacy issues to understand how personal information is collected and distributed and "how to balance the need for putting protections in place with the legitimate needs of businesses to have certain information, and the ability of government to function."
The report recommends, among other things, that New York State:
- Make identity theft a crime.
- Prohibit the state Department of Motor Vehicles from selling data on registrations and titles.
- Prohibit most sharing of data on motorists who use E-Z Pass access to the state Thruway.
- Let individuals choose not to have personal information sold or shared by data dealers.
- Require financial institutions and private businesses that collect and distribute personal information to have a privacy policy for the use of customer information, and to let those businesses' customers choose not to have information on them sold or shared for marketing.
- Prohibit the use of students' Social Security numbers as student ID numbers.
- Prohibit insurers, pharmacies, hospitals, health clinics, and health-care providers and practitioners from sharing or selling medical/health information without the patient's consent unless required by federal or state law.