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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Securities Association (ASA) applauded eight state attorneys general, led by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, for sending a letter urging leaders in the United States Congress to support legislation to protect investors’ privacy.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission’s efforts to create a massive surveillance database containing detailed information on every trade by every person with any money in the stock market, regardless of suspicion of wrongdoing, must be stopped. The Commission’s Consolidated Audit Trail, or CAT, poses a clear threat to Americans’ liberty and privacy, and it will be an easy and irresistible target for cyber thieves,” wrote the Attorneys General.
The American Securities Association has been at the forefront of advocacy for the industry and Members of Congress for years, asking for the removal of all retail investor personally identifiable information (PII) from the CAT. ASA endorsed S. 2230- the Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act, introduced by U.S. Senator John Kennedy, and H.R. 4551- the Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Barry Loudermilk.
“American investors’ constitutional rights are being violated by the unprecedented collection and centralization of their personal and financial information in Washington,” said ASA President & CEO Chris Iacovella. “The SEC has no legal authority to disregard the Fourth Amendment and violate the individual liberty of millions of Americans.”
In June 2023, ASA sent a comment letter to the SEC outlining numerous concerns associated with the proposal, including the growing threat of cyber-criminal activity within the financial system.
In May 2020, ASA launched MyDataMyVote.com, a nationwide grassroots movement mobilizing all Americans to help stop the collection of retail investor data.
Griffin was joined in the letter by the attorneys general of Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.
The Attorneys General letter can be found here.
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About the American Securities Association
American Securities Association, based in Washington, DC, represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.