AICPA commends Congress for introducing Privacy Protection Act.

• Position: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants - Brief Article

Representatives Mark Kennedy (R-Minn.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) recently introduced the Privacy Protection Act of 2005, H.R. 2387, which would amend the privacy provision of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act applicable to CPAs. In essence, it would relieve a substantial unnecessary regulatory burden on CPAs, and especially on sole practitioners and small firms.

The purpose of GLB was to protect the confidentiality of non-public personal financial information by requiring disclosure of how that information may be shared, and allowing the client to opt-out of any information sharing. However, CPAs historically have been legally required...