> =======================================
> NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
> 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
> Washington DC 20037
> World Wide Web: http://www.lp.org/
> =======================================
> For release: January 8, 1999
> =======================================
> For additional information:
> George Getz, Press Secretary
> Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
> E-Mail: 76214.3676 at Compuserve.com
> =======================================
>
> 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, Attn: Comments/OES, Federal Deposit
> Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429. Or
> fax: (202) 898-3838. Or e-mail: comments at FDIC.gov.
>
> The Libertarian Party
> http://www.lp.org/
> 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice:
> 202-333-0008
> Washington DC 20037 fax:
> 202-333-0072