Speaker of the House
Steve Sviggum

(St. Paul, MN...) House Republicans today announced their Privacy Bill of Rights, a series of principles and proposals aimed at protecting people's privacy in the areas of telemarketing, government data, financial institutions, and the health care industry. The Privacy Bill of Rights will be a top priority for the House when the 2000 session begins on February 1st.

"The Privacy Bill of Rights will protect citizens from unwanted solicitations and at the same time hold institutions accountable for how they deal with the private information they receive from customers," said House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty (R-Eagan). "The first institution we're going to hold accountable is our own state government."

The principles in the Privacy Bill of Rights will be at the foundation of virtually every piece of legislation enacted in Minnesota that deals with "informational privacy."

Several legislative proposals will be introduced in the 2000 session to address the Privacy Bill of Rights, beginning with a proposal to prohibit state government from selling lists of information that is in turn used for commercial purposes. The state currently markets and sells several lists of people who receive a license from the state such as teachers or hunters.

"Before we ask other institutions to be more careful with private information, we need to make sure our own house is in order," said Rep. Pawlenty. "Government should not be making money by selling lists of its citizens for commercial purposes."

Specific proposals under the Privacy Bill of Rights include:

Government Privacy Prohibiting state government agencies from selling lists for commercial purposes.

Internet Privacy

Prohibiting Internet service providers from selling highly personal information such as purchasing decisions and frequency of use of specific web sites. Requiring pornography sites that originate in Minnesota to present a warning screen before users are allowed to enter the site.

Home Privacy

Requiring registration of telemarketers with the state to prevent fraud. Prohibiting the use of telephone equipment that blocks the caller identification function on the telephone. Increase the state penalties for violations of the Federal "Do Not Call" list for telephone solicitors to $15,000.

Financial Privacy

Impose state penalties for violations of the federal law which requires companies to allow people to get off their list when they share it with a third party.

Medical Privacy

Guarantee that HMO's in their management capacity (or "as businesses") protect medical records and all other personal information as carefully as do traditional health insurance companies.

"This Privacy Bill of Rights is a comprehensive proposal that balances the privacy rights of families in the information age without compromising the competitiveness and entrepreneurial spirit of the Minnesota economy," said Pawlenty.

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 The Republican Privacy Bill of Rights

The Right to Disclosure, Notice and Awareness: There must be a way for individuals to find out what information about them is in a record and how it is used.

The Right to Correct Errors: There must be a way for individuals to correct or amend a record maintained about them.

The Right to Hold Organizations Accountable: Institutions that violate these principles will be held accountable under the law.

The Right to Prevent Unintended Use of Data: There must be a way for individuals to prevent information about them obtained for one purpose from being used or made available for other purposes without their consent.

The Right to Prevent the Mis-use of Data: Any organization creating, maintaining, using or disseminating records of identifiable personal data must assure the reliability of the data for their intended use and must take reasonable precautions to prevent misuse of the data.