Bill would Limit Consumers' Credit Rights
From USA Today
Excerpt: Congress is considering pre-empting laws in 17 states that allow anyone to freeze their own credit and instead restricting the privilege to ID theft victims.
The proposed Financial Data Protection Act of 2006, expected to be voted on by the House as soon as next week, comes on the heels of the recent theft of sensitive data for 26 million veterans and active duty military personnel. If it becomes law, vets and military personnel who live in states that permit unrestricted credit freezes would lose that option.

A credit freeze cuts off access to your credit history. Since most banks and merchants insist on seeing a credit report before issuing credit, identity thieves can't open bogus accounts using ill-gotten data. Under the bill, backed by the financial services industry, simply having your data lost or stolen isn't enough. You must file a police report describing a specific instance of it being used to commit a crime.

"It's like telling someone you can't put a deadbolt on your front door until after you've been burglarized," says Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna.
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Labels: congress, consumer, identity theft, rights

Ashcroft to be Sued for Civil Rights Abuse
Associated Press via Fresno Bee
Excerpt:
"The draft complaint cites several examples, including the case of Asif-ur-Rehman Saffi, a native of Pakistan who was arrested at La Guardia Airport in New York on Sept. 30 after his tourist visa expired. Although an immigration judge ordered him to be deported, the lawsuit alleges he was jailed until March and locked in an isolation unit. Guards allegedly subjected him to strip searches and "severe beatings to the point of unconsciousness," the suit said."

Labels: Ashcroft, rights