Please Protest Big Brother Law



Please read & forward the following information on a new "big brother" law that will (it's not too late to stop it) violate your constitutional rights.

New regulation would require banks to spy on their customers for Uncle Sam.


WASHINGTON, DC -- A new government directive will force banks to spy on their customers and report any "unusual transactions" to federal investigators -- and there's less than two months left for Americans to try to stop it from taking effect, the Libertarian Party warned today.

"Under the so-called Know Your Customer rule, bank tellers can quiz you about where you got your money and how you plan to spend it. And if your answers sound suspicious, they can report you to federal law enforcement agencies," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national director.

"This new regulation will turn your local bank into a branch of the federal government's civilian surveillance apparatus. It's the ultimate invasion of your financial privacy," he said.

The Know Your Customer law has been proposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and is scheduled to go into effect on April 1.

It will require banks and other financial institutions to develop customer profiles, monitor bank transactions, and report to the government any "unusual activity" -- such as large cash deposits or withdrawals.

Since "unusual activity" could include depositing a Christmas bonus or inheritance, or withdrawing money to buy a house or car, ordinary Americans could find themselves trying to prove to agents from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, or the Drug Enforcement Agency that they are not drug dealers or money launderers, said Dasbach.

"This law would turn every bank teller into a government informer and everyone with a bank account into a criminal suspect," he said.

The Libertarian Party opposes the Know Your Customer regulation for numerous reasons, said Dasbach.

* Your banking habits are none of the government's business."

"In a free society, the government has no business even asking where innocent Americans get their money or how they spend it, much less coercing businesses into secretly monitoring your bank account," he said.

* It's an illegal, warrantless search that violates the Fourth Amendment. Monitoring every bank account to check for laundered money is no different from pulling over every driver just in case some are intoxicated, or searching every home to check for stolen goods," said Dasbach. "It is unconstitutional -- plain and simple."

* It could subject your money to asset forfeiture."

"If you can't immediately prove you're not a criminal, the government could seize your money under asset forfeiture laws," noted Dasbach. "Instead of being the safest place to store your money, banks could become the most dangerous place -- since Uncle Sam's bank robbers can seize it at will."

The Libertarian Party has joined other civil-liberty organizations and business groups like the ACLU, the California Bankers Association, and the Free Congress Foundation to prevent this law from taking effect, said Dasbach.

The FDIC has set March 8 as the deadline for public comment about the proposed regulation -- and Americans need to let the government know what they think about this "Prove-You're-Not-A-Criminal" law, he said.

"We need to flood the FDIC with letters, faxes, and e-mails demanding an end to Big Brother Banking," said Dasbach. "Americans need to launch a Know Your Constitution program -- to remind these federal bureaucrats that they have no right violating our privacy and dignity this way."

To comment on the Know Your Customer regulation, write:

Robert E. Feldman,
Executive Secretary,
550 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20429.
Attn: Comments/OES, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,

Or fax: (202) 898-3838. Or e-mail: comments@FDIC.gov.


-- The Libertarian Party
http://www.lp.org/
2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
fax: 202-333-0072
voice: 202-333-0008
 

 


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