A comprehensive privacy bill that would change the way direct marketers collect data has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.

The Privacy Act of 2001, introduced June 14 by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) would require companies that intend to collect and sell or market a customer’s address, phone number or other non-sensitive information to give the customer an opportunity to opt-out of the sale if they choose.

Also, people would have to opt in–giving explicit consent–before certain “sensitive” data is sold, rented or licensed. Sensitive data includes Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and financial and health data.

Under this provision, the sale, purchase and display of Social Security numbers to the general public would be restricted. Federal, state and local governments would have to redact these numbers on government records before they would be provided to the general public. And, Social Security numbers would no longer be permitted as the default driver’s license number.

If passed in its current form, the bill would allow the sale or purchase of Social Security numbers to facilitate business-to-business transactions so long as businesses put appropriate safeguards in place and do not permit public access to the number.

The bill would also bar state motor vehicle departments from disclosing the certain information on a driver’s license, such as the driver’s identification number or physical characteristics, without the driver’s opt in.

A privacy bill that would change the way direct marketers collect data has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.

The Privacy Act of 2001, introduced June 14 by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) would require companies that intend to collect and market a customer’s address, phone number or other non-sensitive information to give the customer an opportunity to opt out of the sale if they choose.

Also, people would have to opt in–giving explicit consent–before certain “sensitive” data is sold, rented or licensed. Sensitive data includes Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and financial and health data.

Under this provision, the sale, purchase and display of Social Security numbers to the general public would be restricted. Federal, state and local governments would have to redact these numbers on government records before they would be provided to the general public. And, Social Security numbers would no longer be permitted as the default driver’s license number.

If passed in its current form, the bill would allow the sale or purchase of Social Security numbers to facilitate business-to-business transactions so long as businesses put appropriate safeguards in place and do not permit public access to the number.

The bill would also bar state motor vehicle departments from disclosing certain information on a driver’s license, such as the driver’s identification number or physical characteristics, without the driver’s opt in.

The Direct Marketing Association, New York, is taking a position of guarded opposition to the bill. “Feinstein has clearly listened to the marketplace and how information is being used and has tried to craft a bill that allows marketers to continue on with business and use Social Security numbers at least for matching purposes,” said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president of government affairs for the trade group.

The opt-out provisions of the bill “reflect the DMA’s existing self-regulatory guidelines,” Cerasale said, which marketers currently employ as an opt-out box on a cataloger’s order form.

But there are problems with the bill, he added. Organizations that use Social Security numbers for identification purposes, such as state driver’s license bureaus, colleges and HMOs, would have to reorganize their customer files. Financial services providers, now using an opt-out method under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, “would change from opt out to an opt in,” he said.