BLOCKING THE RIGHT TO CLEAR ONE'S NAME

progressreport.org
3/4/2005

BLOCKING THE RIGHT TO CLEAR ONE'S NAME

Imagine being a few weeks into a new job when your employer suddenly claims that a
background check revealed your prior indiscretions with drug
importation. It seems you have been the victim of identity theft and that was
never you. But when you confront the company that provided the erroneous
data
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110990039453970313,00.html?mod=politics%5Fprimary%5Fhs)
, in this case ChoicePoint, they reply, "It's your life and you have to
fix it." Unfortunately, legislators have failed to make any headway
against the increasing frequency of "identity theft and [subsequent]
improper disclosure of private information." The imposing barricade in their
way is the aggressive million-dollar lobbying campaign that
"ChoicePoint and six of the country's other largest sellers of private consumer
data" have launched against federal oversight or regulation legislation
that "might prevent unauthorized disclosures or give additional rights
to consumers harmed by incorrect information." Simultaneously, they are
bankrolling research that conveniently extols "the virtues of
background checks and the importance of data brokers to national security." It
makes sense that ChoicePoint is the forerunning backer of the
resistance, since the company has a history
(http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=11514&cid=3&cname=Technology)
of being " duped...into selling
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110990039453970313,00.html?mod=politics%5Fprimary%5Fhs)
the names, addresses and Social Security numbers and other data on tens
of thousands of people."