Alaska Protection of Social Security Number
AS § 45.48.400, et seq.
Alaska Statutes
Title 45. Trade and Commerce
Chapter 48. Personal Information Protection Act
Article 3. Protection of Social Security Number.
Sec. 45.48.400. Use of social security number.
Sec. 45.48.410. Request and collection.
Sec. 45.48.420. Sale, lease, loan, trade, or rental.
Sec. 45.48.430. Disclosure.
Sec. 45.48.440. Interagency disclosure.
Sec. 45.48.450. Exception for employees, agents, and independent contractors.
Sec. 45.48.460. Employment-related exception.
Sec. 45.48.470. Agency regulations.
Sec. 45.48.480. Penalties.
Article 3. Protection of Social Security Number.
Sec. 45.48.290. Definitions.
In AS 45.48.100 — 45.48.290,
(1) “account review” means activities related to account maintenance, account monitoring, credit line increases, and account upgrades and enhancements;
(2) “consumer” means an individual who is the subject of a credit report or credit score;
(3) “consumer credit reporting agency” has the meaning given in AS 45.48.990, but does not include a person who issues reports
(A) on incidents of fraud or authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar methods of payments; or
(B) regarding account closures because of fraud, substantial overdrafts, automated teller machine abuse, or similar negative information regarding a consumer to inquiring banks or other financial institutions for use only in reviewing consumer requests for deposit accounts at the inquiring banks or financial institutions;
(4) “reseller of consumer information” means a person who assembles and merges information contained in the databases of consumer credit reporting agencies and does not maintain a permanent database of consumer information from which new consumer credit reports are produced;
(5) “security freeze” means a prohibition against a consumer credit reporting agency's releasing a consumer's credit report or credit score without the express authorization of the consumer;
(6) “third party” means a person who is not
(A) the consumer who is the subject of the consumer's credit report or credit score; or
(B) the consumer credit reporting agency that is holding the consumer's credit report or credit score.
Sec. 45.48.400. Use of social security number.
(a) A person may not
(1) intentionally communicate or otherwise make available to the general public an individual's social security number;
(2) print an individual's social security number on a card required for the individual to access products or services provided by the person;
(3) require an individual to transmit the individual's social security number over the Internet unless the Internet connection is secure or the social security number is encrypted;
(4) require an individual to use the individual's social security number to access an Internet website unless a password, a unique personal identification number, or another authentication device is also required to access the website; or
(5) print an individual's social security number on material that is mailed to the individual unless
(A) local, state, or federal law, including a regulation adopted under AS 45.48.470, expressly authorizes placement of the social security number on the material; or
(B) the social security number is included on an application or other form, including a document sent as a part of an application process or an enrollment process, sent by mail to establish, amend, or terminate an account, a contract, or a policy, or to confirm the accuracy of the social security number; however, a social security number allowed to be mailed under this subparagraph may not be printed, in whole or in part, on a postcard or other mailer that does not require an envelope, or in a manner that makes the social security number visible on the envelope or without the envelope's being opened.
(b) The prohibitions in (a) of this section do not apply if the person is engaging in the business of government and
(1) is authorized by law to communicate or otherwise make available to the general public the individual's social security number; or
(2) the communicating or otherwise making available of the individual's social security number is required for the performance of the person's duties or responsibilities as provided by law.
Sec. 45.48.410. Request and collection.
(a) A person who does business in the state, including the business of government, may not request or collect from an individual the individual's social security number. This subsection does not prohibit a person from asking for another form of identification from the individual.
(b) The prohibition in (a) of this section does not apply
(1) if the person is authorized by local, state, or federal law, including a regulation adopted under AS 45.48.470, to demand proof of the individual's social security number, to request or collect the individual's social security number, or to submit the individual's social security number to the local, state, or federal government;
(2) if the person is engaging in the business of government and
(A) is authorized by law to request or collect the individual's social security number; or
(B) the request or collection of the individual's social security number is required for the performance of the person's duties or responsibilities as provided by law;
(3) to a person subject to or a transaction regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act for a purpose authorized by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act;
(4) to a person subject to or a transaction regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act for a purpose authorized by the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
(5) if the request or collection is for a background check on the individual, for fraud prevention, for medical treatment, for law enforcement or other government purposes, for the individual's employment, including employment benefits, or for verification of the individual's age;
(6) if the request or collection does not have independent economic value, is incidental to a larger transaction or a larger anticipated transaction, and is necessary to verify the identity of the individual;
(7) to an insurer regulated by AS 21; in this paragraph, “insurer” has the meaning given in AS 21.97.900; or
(8) to a hospital service corporation or a medical service corporation regulated under AS 21.87; in this paragraph, “hospital service corporation” and “medical service corporation” have the meanings given in AS 21.87.330.
Sec. 45.48.420. Sale, lease, loan, trade, or rental.
(a) A person may not sell, lease, loan, trade, or rent an individual's social security number to a third party.
(b) The prohibition in (a) of this section does not apply if the sale, lease, loan, trade, or rental is
(1) authorized by local, state, or federal law, including a regulation adopted under AS 45.48.470;
(2) by a person subject to or for a transaction regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act for a purpose authorized by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act;
(3) by a person subject to or for a transaction regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act for a purpose authorized by the Fair Credit Reporting Act; or
(4) part of a report prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency in response to a request by a person and the person submits the social security number as part of the request to the consumer credit reporting agency for the preparation of the report.
(c) Nothing in this section prevents a business from transferring social security numbers to another person if the transfer is part of the sale or other transfer of the business to the other person.
(d) A transfer of an individual's social security number for the sole purpose of identifying a person about whom a report or database check is ordered, received, or provided is not a sale, lease, loan, trade, or rental of a social security number under this section.
(e) A person who knowingly violates (a) of this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. In this subsection, “knowingly” has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900.
Sec. 45.48.430. Disclosure.
(a) A person doing business, including the business of government, may not disclose an individual's social security number to a third party.
(b) The prohibition in (a) of this section does not apply if
(1) the disclosure is authorized by local, state, or federal law, including a regulation adopted under AS 45.48.470;
(2) the person is engaging in the business of government and
(A) is authorized by law to disclose the individual's social security number; or
(B) the disclosure of the individual's social security number is required for the performance of the person's duties or responsibilities as provided by law;
(3) the disclosure is to a person subject to or for a transaction regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act, and the disclosure is for a purpose authorized by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act or to facilitate a transaction of the individual;
(4) the disclosure is to a person subject to or for a transaction regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the disclosure is for a purpose authorized by the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
(5) the disclosure is part of a report prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency in response to a request by a person and the person submits the social security number as part of the request to the consumer credit reporting agency for the preparation of the report; or
(6) the disclosure is for a background check on the individual, identity verification, fraud prevention, medical treatment, law enforcement or other government purposes, or the individual's employment, including employment benefits.
Sec. 45.48.440. Interagency disclosure.
Notwithstanding the other provisions of AS 45.48.400 — 45.48.480, a state or local governmental agency may disclose an individual's social security number to another state or local governmental agency or to an agency of the federal government if the disclosure is required in order for the agency to carry out the agency's duties and responsibilities.
Sec. 45.48.450. Exception for employees, agents, and independent contractors.
(a) Notwithstanding the other provisions of AS 45.48.400 — 45.48.480, a person may disclose an individual's social security number to an employee or agent of the person for a legitimate purpose established by and as directed by the person, but the employee or agent may not use the social security number for another purpose or make an unauthorized disclosure of the individual's personal information.
(b) Notwithstanding the other provisions of AS 45.48.400 — 45.48.480, and except as provided for an agent under (a) of this section, a person may disclose an individual's social security number to an independent contractor of the person to facilitate the purpose or transaction for which the individual initially provided the social security number to the person, but the independent contractor may not use the social security number for another purpose or make an unauthorized disclosure of the individual's personal information. In this subsection, “independent contractor” includes a debt collector.
Sec. 45.48.460. Employment-related exception.
The provisions of AS 45.48.400 — 45.48.480 may not be construed to restrict a person's use or exchange of an individual's social security number
(1) in the course of the administration of a claim, benefit, or procedure related to the individual's employment by the person, including the individual's termination from employment, retirement from employment, and injury suffered during the course of employment; or
(2) to check on an unemployment insurance claim of the individual.
Sec. 45.48.470. Agency regulations.
If regulations are necessary in order for a state agency to carry out the state agency's duties and responsibilities, a state agency may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to establish when the state agency or a person regulated by the state agency may
(1) print an individual's social security number on material that is mailed to the individual;
(2) demand proof from an individual of the individual's social security number, collect from an individual the individual's social security number, or submit an individual's social security number to a local, state, or federal agency;
(3) ask an individual to provide the state agency with the individual's social security number;
(4) disclose an individual's social security number to a third party;
(5) sell, lease, loan, trade, or rent an individual's social security number to a third party.
For more information, see here: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#45.48.470
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