AAF: Biden’s Secret Massive Database of your Financial Holdings

For more information, please contact AAF Policy Director John Shelton at jshelton@advancingamericanfreedom.com

AAF: Biden’s Secret Massive Database of your Financial Holdings

TOPLINE: The Biden Administration is creating a database of all your financial investments.

• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently implementing a rule that would force financial institutions to send information regarding investors’ holdings – stocks, bonds, cash – and all trades to a massive government database. • Upon completion, this would be the world’s largest database outside of the National Security Agency (NSA), and cost more than $3 billion, along with $200 million in annual operating costs. • This reckless effort is unconstitutional, dangerous to American liberties, and undermines our national security. Background: Traditionally, Americans’ financial holdings are kept between them and their broker, not them, their broker, and a massive government database. • The only exception has been legal investigations with a warrant. Biden’s SEC Side-Steps Congress: Via proposed rulemaking, the SEC is attempting to mandate that brokerage firms transfer their client’s personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, to a massive database managed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, also known as FINRA. • The Customer and Account Information System is known by its acronym: CAT/CAIS. • Congress has not passed a law instructing the SEC to create this database. • Rather, the Biden Administration is implementing this Orwellian database through the rulemaking process. • Americans cannot opt out of the massive government database.

Goodbye Privacy, and Hello Harassment: In the database, Americans’ investment data would be accessible by ~3,000 individuals at the SEC and 23 Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs), such as FINRA, the NYSE and Nasdaq. • Flashback: Conservative groups, candidates, and President Trump have been routinely harassed by rogue government agents leaking their private data. The Biden Administration is Invading Americans’ Financial Privacy: In March 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton issued an executive order halting the collection of personally identifiable information in connection with the data transfer of customer data to the Central Repository. • Biden’s SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has effectively ignored that order – and gone further by pressuring clearing houses to start divulging the data now for “testing purposes.” • Very few Americans are aware of the threat to their data privacy. Conservatives should: Cosponsor and demand a floor vote on Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s bill, H.R. 4551 – Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act, to ensure that Americans’ financial data is protected.