Data privacy

Noelle Acheson looks at how zero-knowledge proofs are more than a new way of looking at financial compliance — they also change how we understand the ownership of knowledge.

A government shutdown and a single senator's hold prevented the renewal this week of a bipartisan law that helped banks and other firms defend against hackers.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is telling financial institutions that they must safeguard customer data even when federal agencies request information in criminal investigations, addressing Republican concerns about debanking that arose after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

The American Fintech Council wants Congress to amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to preempt state privacy laws with both entity-level and data-level exemptions, as well as eliminating restrictions on the secondary use of data.

The lawsuit argues that a state law from 1967 concerning wiretapping also applies to internet tracking. Similar arguments in related cases have had mixed success.

Current and retired federal employees say Treasury officials granted Elon Musk improper access to federal financial records, violating privacy laws.

Potential cybersecurity and data privacy violations are among the many dangers of giving the Tesla CEO free rein over systems and data used for Social Security benefits and tax refunds. 

Banks must comply with a European Union law known as DORA by Friday. The law aims to improve cybersecurity and reduce tech failures in financial services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal to protect consumer data privacy and categorize data brokers that sell sensitive consumer data as "consumer reporting agencies" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a move that could garner bipartisan support.

The bureau suggested this week that states should remove the exemptions banks enjoy from data privacy laws. California is a prime candidate to act.