STOP THE SNITCHING

Know Your customer is an innocuous-sounding regulation that found its
way onto the Federal Register two months ago. Thanks to attentive
Internet privacy groups, the snoop practices proposed by financial
regulators may not survive much longer.

The proposed new rule would require federally chartered banks to
identify every customer for the federal government and would mandate
tracking of ordinary customer banking transactions. Credit unions and
state-chartered banks that aren't members of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. also would be roped into the Know Your Customer scheme. ...

Federal regulators say the scheme is needed to protect the banking
system against drug-related money-laundering. But existing rules
already require private financial institutions to report most trans-
actions of $10,000 or more. Banks also must file reports of suspicious
transactions with the Treasury Department if they believe a customer
is engaging in criminal activities.

There is no need for an additional federal mandate directing banks to
snitch on customers making ordinary financial transactions. ...

- - The Seattle Times