The Saving Privacy Act would change several federal rules about financial records, regulatory review, and digital currencies. Key parts of the bill: it amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act and parts of the Bank Secrecy Act to limit when government authorities can access customers' financial records, generally requiring a search warrant for those records. It removes or revises many existing Bank Secrecy Act provisions and changes some definitions and reporting rules. The bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to terminate the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), prohibits federal agencies and self-regulatory organizations from running a centralized database that collects personally identifiable information unless Congress specifically authorizes it, and requires CAT entities to reimburse fees collected before termination.
The bill adds a new restriction in the Federal Reserve Act that would bar the Federal Reserve and related agencies from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals or from holding U.S. digital currencies on a Reserve bank balance sheet. It creates a new chapter in title 5, U.S. Code, to require Congress to review and approve "major rules" (including a process for joint resolutions of approval), and it directs a Government Accountability Office study on rules and costs. The bill increases criminal and civil penalties for unlawful access to or disclosure of financial records, adds a right to seek mandamus and other relief, adjusts tax reporting thresholds for third-party payment networks, and bars federal agencies from restricting individuals' use of convertible virtual currency or self-hosted wallets.
The bill's stated purpose (in Title V) says it would increase accountability and transparency in federal rulemaking, return more control to Congress over major regulations, and better protect Americans' expectation of privacy in financial records by requiring warrants and stronger legal remedies.
No publicly available information.