15 U.S.C. § 1681s–3 — Affiliate sharing
submitted 23 years ago by Pub. L. 90-321 to r/title-15-COMMERCE-AND-TRADE · 1,020 words · no verdicts yet
This section limits when an affiliated company may use shared information to market to a consumer. It requires clear notice and a simple opt-out, with exceptions for existing relationships and certain communications.
(a) A person* receiving information from a commonly owned or corporately controlled affiliate may not use it to solicit a consumer* about products or services unless the consumer is clearly and prominently told that affiliates may share the information for solicitations and is given a simple way to stop them. (2) The consumer must be able to stop all such solicitations, though the notice may offer choices about entities, information, and delivery methods. The notice must be clear, prominent, concise, and simple; implementing regulations must give specific guidance. (3) An opt-out lasts at least five years from receipt unless the consumer revokes it. After it expires, the person may not use the shared information for a solicitation unless the consumer first receives notice and a simple chance to extend the opt-out for at least five more years. (4) The rule does not apply to a person using the information for a pre-existing business relationship; to employee-benefit or similar services under an employment relationship; to services for an affiliate, unless the affiliate itself would be barred by the consumer’s opt-out; to a response to the consumer; to solicitations the consumer authorized or requested; or when compliance would prevent compliance with a State* insurance law against unfair discrimination. (5) It does not prohibit use of information received before compliance with implementing regulations was required. (b) Notices may be combined with other legally required notices. An equivalent notice supplied with those disclosures satisfies this section. (c) These use requirements are requirements about exchanging information among commonly owned or commonly controlled affiliates under section 1681t(b)(2). (d) “Pre-existing business relationship” means a relationship between a person, or the person’s licensed agent, and a consumer based on a current financial contract; the consumer’s purchase, rental, lease, financial transaction, active account, current policy, or other continuing relationship during the previous 18 months; the consumer’s inquiry or application during the previous 3 months; or another relationship defined by regulations. “Solicitation” means person-initiated marketing of a product or service to a particular consumer, based on the shared information and intended to encourage purchase. It excludes general-public communications and communications regulations do not treat as solicitations.
Any person* that receives from another person related to it by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control a communication of information that would be a consumer report*, but for clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of section 1681a(d)(2)(A) of this title, may not use the information to make a solicitation for marketing purposes to a consumer* about its products or services, unless—
it is clearly and conspicuously disclosed to the consumer that the information may be communicated among such persons for purposes of making such solicitations to the consumer; and
the consumer is provided an opportunity and a simple method to prohibit the making of such solicitations to the consumer by such person.
The notice required under paragraph (1) shall allow the consumer the opportunity to prohibit all solicitations referred to in such paragraph, and may allow the consumer to choose from different options when electing to prohibit the sending of such solicitations, including options regarding the types of entities and information covered, and which methods of delivering solicitations the consumer elects to prohibit.
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the notice required under paragraph (1) shall be clear, conspicuous, and concise, and any method provided under paragraph (1)(B) shall be simple. The regulations prescribed to implement this section shall provide specific guidance regarding how to comply with such standards.
The election of a consumer pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) to prohibit the making of solicitations shall be effective for at least 5 years, beginning on the date on which the person receives the election of the consumer, unless the consumer requests that such election be revoked.
At such time as the election of a consumer pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) is no longer effective, a person may not use information that the person receives in the manner described in paragraph (1) to make any solicitation for marketing purposes to the consumer, unless the consumer receives a notice and an opportunity, using a simple method, to extend the opt-out for another period of at least 5 years, pursuant to the procedures described in paragraph (1).
This section shall not apply to a person—
using information to make a solicitation for marketing purposes to a consumer with whom the person has a pre-existing business relationship;
using information to facilitate communications to an individual for whose benefit the person provides employee benefit or other services pursuant to a contract with an employer related to and arising out of the current employment relationship or status of the individual as a participant or beneficiary of an employee benefit plan;
using information to perform services on behalf of another person related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, except that this subparagraph shall not be construed as permitting a person to send solicitations on behalf of another person, if such other person would not be permitted to send the solicitation on its own behalf as a result of the election of the consumer to prohibit solicitations under paragraph (1)(B);
using information in response to a communication initiated by the consumer;
using information in response to solicitations authorized or requested by the consumer; or
if compliance with this section by that person would prevent compliance by that person with any provision of State* insurance laws pertaining to unfair discrimination in any State in which the person is lawfully doing business.
This subsection shall not prohibit the use of information to send a solicitation to a consumer if such information was received prior to the date on which persons are required to comply with regulations implementing this subsection.
A notice or other disclosure under this section may be coordinated and consolidated with any other notice required to be issued under any other provision of law by a person that is subject to this section, and a notice or other disclosure that is equivalent to the notice required by subsection (a), and that is provided by a person described in subsection (a) to a consumer together with disclosures required by any other provision of law, shall satisfy the requirements of subsection (a).
Requirements with respect to the use by a person of information received from another person related to it by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, such as the requirements of this section, constitute requirements with respect to the exchange of information among persons affiliated by common ownership or common corporate control, within the meaning of section 1681t(b)(2) of this title.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
The term “pre-existing business relationship” means a relationship between a person, or a person’s licensed agent, and a consumer, based on—
a financial contract between a person and a consumer which is in force;
the purchase, rental, or lease by the consumer of that person’s goods or services, or a financial transaction (including holding an active account or a policy in force or having another continuing relationship) between the consumer and that person during the 18-month period immediately preceding the date on which the consumer is sent a solicitation covered by this section;
an inquiry or application by the consumer regarding a product or service offered by that person, during the 3-month period immediately preceding the date on which the consumer is sent a solicitation covered by this section; or
any other pre-existing customer relationship defined in the regulations implementing this section.
The term “solicitation” means the marketing of a product or service initiated by a person to a particular consumer that is based on an exchange of information described in subsection (a), and is intended to encourage the consumer to purchase such product or service, but does not include communications that are directed at the general public or determined not to be a solicitation by the regulations prescribed under this section.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 90–321, title VI, § 624, as added Pub. L. 108–159, title II, § 214(a)(2), Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 1980.)
- 2003Enacted · Pub. L. 90-321 · 117 Stat. 1980
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 90-321 on 2003-12-04.
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