MPR: Non-Partisan Privacy

Non-Partisan Privacy
by Laura McCallum
January 11, 2000

Minnesota DFL leaders traveled around the state to push the issue of consumer privacy protection. Democrats are planning to introduce a package of privacy initiatives in the upcoming legislative session, and appear to be positioning their party to be at the forefront of a growing citizen concern. Several Republicans say they, too, are interested in the issue, and they hope it doesn't turn into a partisan debate.

For More Information
See MPR's Surveillance Society Web site.

For more on the legislative session, see MPR's Session 2000 coverage.

PRIVACY STARTED as Attorney General Mike Hatch's issue, when he sued U.S. Bancorp for selling bank customers' records. Now he's surrounded by DFL legislative leaders pledging their commitment to consumer privacy. Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe calls it one of the top agenda items for the upcoming session; House Minority Leader Tom Pugh says it came up time and again at recent hearings his caucus held around the state.

Pugh: We learned in those hearings and through our constituents that it's an issue that affects everyone, regardless of economic or social status. We think it's also an issue that affects us all whether Republican, Democrat or Reform, it's not a partisan issue.

But despite Pugh's outstretched hand to the other parties, no Republicans or Reformers were included in the statewide fly-around, and it appears Democrats think this is an issue they can make their own. The Senate DFL caucus did internal polling in district 18, where a special election will fill the late Senator Janet Johnson's seat, and found privacy ranked among the top concerns of voters.

Staffers say privately the polling also found it's an issue that plays well for Democrats; many voters think DFL legislators will do a better job of protecting their privacy than Republicans. The publisher of the newsletter Privacy Times, Evan Hendricks, says that's a common theme across the country.

Hendricks: There's no question that the pro-privacy legislators that have emerged have been Democrats and that the public's correct in thinking that they have a better chance, that Democrats will favor legislation to protect privacy. But there have been some real notable exceptions, like the Massachusetts governor, Senator Shelby from Alabama, a very conservative senator who's pushed really hard to try to get banking privacy legislation passed.

Hendricks says he's surprised that more Republicans - who tend to campaign for individual freedom - don't push legislation designed to protect citizens' personal information. Republican House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty says his caucus does want to make sure government and large institutions don't intrude in individuals' lives. But privacy doesn't rank among Republicans' top three agenda items for next session - passing another tax cut, reducing traffic congestion and addressing the farm crisis. Still, Pawlenty says Republicans will probably back some of the provisions DFLers propose.

Pawlenty: It's somewhat of a dry issue, it certainly doesn't need to be a political issue, and it's an important issue. But I would be hard-pressed to construct an argument that somehow Democrats or Republicans are better able to handle this particular issue, I think it's an issue that would be ripe for working together.

Lawmakers involved in data privacy say that's the way it's been in the past; the often-tedious process of hammering out privacy legislation has been non-partisan and cooperative. A Senate subcommittee on data privacy begins holding hearings on the issue later this week, and chairman Don Betzold says legislators want to hear from all of the interested parties - consumers, the banking industry, the news media and others. He says Minnesota's laws haven't been updated to reflect the era of the Internet.

Betzold: In the electronic age, all the rules seem to be changing. The citizen who sits at home at the home computer finds that we can access a lot of information on the Internet, but people are also getting scared. They're discovering that very private personal information is out there, and they want something to be done about that.

It's unclear what will be done. DFL lawmakers offered few specifics about the kind of legislation they'll propose. Attorney General Hatch is drafting a bill that would protect financial data by creating an "opt-in" requirement; financial institutions that wanted to release customers' information would have to get their permission, rather than the current "opt-out" method which puts the burden on consumers to contact their bank if they don't want their data released. The Minnesota Banking Association hasn't taken a stand on the idea until it sees the bill, but says it welcomes the debate. It's certain to be a debate in the 2000 session.

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