Court Kills Parts Of California Privacy Law

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed a lower court ruling and said that portions of a strong California privacy law are preempted by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Ruling on an appeal from several financial services organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Financial Services Roundtable, the court said the federal law preempts parts of the California privacy law known as SB1 that would have required companies to obtain a consumer’s permission before sharing information between its affiliates.

However, the court’s decision limited the types of information that might be shared to that involving the consumer’s eligibility for credit and insurance. The case now returns to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, where Judge Morrison England will decide how much of SB1 can be enforced. In the initial case last year, Judge England upheld the entire law, leading to the appeal to the San Francisco-based appellate court.

“We are extremely pleased with the ruling,” said Sam Sorich, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies. “California law was overly restrictive and inconsistent with congressional intent to create national standards regarding the sharing of customer information among the affiliates of financial institutions. SB 1 forced insurers and other financial institutions to develop processes designed solely for California. A state-by-state approach such as this significantly hinders the potential economic and service benefits a consumer could experience as a result of the responsible sharing of information among affiliates.”