In Brief: The Financial Privacy Requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Protecting the privacy of consumer information held by "financial institutions" is at the heart of the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999. The GLB Act requires companies to give consumers privacy notices that explain the institutions' information-sharing practices. In turn, consumers have the right to limit some - but not all - sharing of their information. This document provides a brief look at the basic financial privacy requirements of the law.