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SEC. 374. MODIFICATION TO DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION IN RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT.
(a) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION- Section 1114 of the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3414) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(d) For purposes of this section, and sections 1115 and 1117 insofar as they relate to the operation of this section, the term `financial institution' has the same meaning as in subsections (a)(2) and (c)(1) of section 5312 of title 31, United States Code, except that, for purposes of this section, such term shall include only such a financial institution any part of which is located inside any State or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the United States Virgin Islands.'.
(b) CROSS REFERENCE MODIFICATION- Section 1101(1) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 3401(1)) is amended by inserting `, except as provided in section 1114,' before `means any office'.
I looked at that and the Wired article and said...wtf? Where is the notice on New Laws that state increase powers, and I quote this:
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The new law (see Section 374 of the act), however, lets the FBI acquire these records through an administrative procedure whereby an FBI field agent simply drafts a so-called national security letter stating the information is relevant to a national security investigation.
Sigh, congress ruled in 1976, over 20 years ago that public financial institutions give no privacy to individual financial records, that they are public records in the eyes from a government law enforcement standard. The Financial Privacy Act of 1978 helped a little but the FBI NEVER needed a subpoena to get at your bank account. LOL. If you want to blame a president, who was that? Carter, Ford? Chuck me a peanut and call me Charlie, he stole my right to harbor funds in an account. Ever wonder why so many went over to "offshore" banking. It wasn't Bush or the Patriot Act.
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And the law broadens the definition of "financial institution" to include such businesses as insurance companies, travel agencies, real estate agents, stockbrokers, the U.S. Postal Service and even jewelry stores, casinos and car dealerships.
OK this one is on the up and up. It does broaden already granted 20 year old powers to include those things. But they didn’t just make them up. They are in Title 31 which deals with and is titled Money and Finance. They pointed the modified Act to expand the definition of "Financial Institution" to what the Title declared. It does not include Jewelry Stores that is another lie, perhaps he was referring to Pawn shops, because according to the government you go there to get cash and conduct fiscal transactions. But Pawn shops don't sound as good. Those same institutions are also changed to include sources the public can claim restitution from if the government is caught over stepping its boundaries. What really is the major change is territories are included. I bet they are pissed off.