H.R. 1602: Financial Privacy Act of 2025

This bill, known as the Financial Privacy Act of 2025, aims to enhance transparency and protections regarding the reports collected under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by the Secretary of the Treasury through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Here are the key aspects of the bill:

Purpose and Findings

The bill points out that the Secretary of the Treasury, through FinCEN, collects a significant amount of reports on everyday economic activities of American citizens. This includes:

• Currency Transaction Reports
• Suspicious Activity Reports
• Form 8300 Reports

It highlights that while some information collected may help in combating financial crimes, much of it may not be relevant to legitimate law enforcement needs, yet still contains sensitive information about individuals’ lives. The bill recognizes the need for strict confidentiality and security for such data, as confirmed by FinCEN.

Reporting Requirements

The bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide annual reports to specific congressional committees within 180 days of the bill's enactment and each year thereafter. These reports must include:

• The number of reports filed annually with FinCEN
• The total number of reports retained by FinCEN
• A description of protocols guiding how national security, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies access, retain, and disseminate information from these reports
• Details about updates to these protocols, how often they are accessed, and any denials or revocations of access

Review and Revision of Protocols

Annually, the Secretary of the Treasury must also review and, if necessary, revise the protocols for accessing and using information from BSA reports, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General. The goals of these revisions are to:

• Align information collection and dissemination with authorized law enforcement objectives
• Enforce prohibitions on unauthorized data disclosures
• Safeguard the legal rights of U.S. citizens, including their privacy rights

Congressional Requests and Notifications

Upon request from designated congressional leaders, the Secretary must provide any revised protocols relating to report access. In addition, if the protocols change, the Secretary is required to notify Congress within 30 days of such changes.

Duration of the Provisions

The provisions outlined in this bill will be repealed seven years after its enactment, meaning they are intended to be temporary, after which the collected data practices will revert to prior conditions unless new legislation is passed.

Relevant Companies

None found