What catalogers need to know about consumer privacy regulations.

By Reported Donna Loyle

The Act requires financial institutions to give consumers privacy notices that explain the institutions’ information-sharing practices. Consumers then have the right to limit some, but not all, sharing of their information — that is, they can opt out.

How this affects catalogers: If you’re a retailer who extends credit or issues credit cards to your customers, you must comply with GLB. You must format privacy notices that include what information you collect about customers, with whom you share the information, and how you protect and safeguard the data in your repository. Additionally, you must give customers a way to opt out of having you share their non-public information with third parties.