S. 3164Senate115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act

Sponsored by Doug  JonesSen. Doug Jones (D-AL)
Introduced June 28, 2018

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 10:44 PM UTC

The Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act amends the Gramm‑Leach‑Bliley Act to add a new exception to the annual privacy‑notice rule for certain vehicle‑related financial companies. Those companies can skip the yearly notice if they meet defined posting, notification, and opt‑out requirements, affecting both the firms and their consumers.

Key Provisions

  • Defines “vehicle financial company” as either a lender tied to a vehicle manufacturer that only shares consumer data with non‑affiliated dealers, or a lender that regularly extends credit for vehicle purchases/leases or buys vehicle installment contracts.
  • Allows a vehicle financial company to forego the annual privacy disclosure if it (a) posts its current privacy policy on its website and provides it by mail or toll‑free phone request, (b) gives consumers clear notice of the policy on billing statements or via reasonable online/written means, and (c) offers an opt‑out mechanism for sharing nonpublic personal information and explains how to use it.
  • If the company has multiple policies based on account type or state, it may satisfy the posting requirement by posting all policies on its public website with instructions for selecting the applicable one.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

June 28, 2018

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

June 28, 2018

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

June 28, 2018

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

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Introduced in SenateIssued June 28, 2018

II

115th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 3164

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 28, 2018

Mr. Jones (for himself and Mr. Heller) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to update the exception for certain annual notices provided by financial institutions.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act.

2.

Exception to annual notice requirement

Section 503 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6803) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(g)

Additional exception to annual notice requirement

(1)

Definition

In this subsection, the term vehicle financial company means—

(A)

a financial institution that—

(i)

is regularly engaged in the business of extending credit for the purchase of vehicles;

(ii)

is affiliated with a vehicle manufacturer; and

(iii)

only shares nonpublic personal information of consumers with nonaffiliated third parties that are vehicle dealers; or

(B)

a financial institution that—

(i)

regularly engages in the business of extending credit for the purchase or lease of vehicles from vehicle dealers; or

(ii)

purchases vehicle installment sales contracts or leases from vehicle dealers.

(2)

Annual disclosure not required

A vehicle financial company that has not changed its policies and practices with regard to disclosing nonpublic personal information from the policies and practices that were disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers in accordance with this section shall not be required to provide an annual disclosure under this section if—

(A)

the vehicle financial company makes its current policy available to consumers on its website and via mail upon written request sent to a designated address identified for the purpose of requesting the policy or upon telephone request made using a toll free consumer service telephone number;

(B)

the vehicle financial company conspicuously notifies consumers of the availability of the current policy, including—

(i)

with respect to consumers who are entitled to a periodic billing statement, a message on the front page of each periodic billing statement; and

(ii)

with respect to consumers who are not entitled to a periodic billing statement, through other reasonable means such as through a link on the landing page of the company’s website or with other written communication, including electronic communication, sent to the consumer; and

(C)

the vehicle financial company—

(i)

provides consumers with the ability to opt out, subject to any exemption or exception provided under subsection (b)(2) or (e) of section 502 or under regulations prescribed under section 504(b), of having the consumer’s nonpublic personal information disclosed to a nonaffiliated third party; and

(ii)

includes a description about where to locate the procedures for a consumer to select such opt out in each periodic billing statement sent to the consumer.

(3)

Treatment of multiple policies

If a vehicle financial company maintains more than one set of policies described under paragraph (2) that vary depending on the consumer’s account status or State of residence, the vehicle financial company may comply with the website posting requirement in paragraph (2)(A) by posting all of such policies to the public section of the vehicle financial company’s website, with instructions for choosing the applicable policy.

.