On September 20, Gary Gensler, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), made an important announcement. He stated that the Commission had voted to update its rules in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the announcement, the improvements are being made in order to modernize the manner in which the SEC keeps and handles personal information within its record-keeping systems.
Gensler focused on three important aspects of the proposed changes, which are as follows:
Electronic identification verifications, updated fee provisions, and disclosure information are among the new provisions. Disclosure information is a new provision that enables the public to obtain information about whether or not the Commission has disclosed their personal data. They can also discover the date of each revelation, the nature of the revelation, and the purpose of the revelation.
Gensler emphasized the significance of these alterations by stating, "These amendments provide more clarity on how the public can access their information stored by the Commission and request amendments." The value of these modifications was emphasized by Gensler. When viewed in its entirety, this constitutes a significant advance toward more data protection and openness.
The alterations make it simpler for individuals to access their own personal records while simultaneously offering safeguards to ensure the integrity of the information being stored. This allows the improvements to satisfy broader societal concerns over data protection.
"I was pleased to support this adoption because it will update the Commission's rules with respect to this important law," Gensler was quoted as saying in the press statement announcing the adjustments. These adjustments would make it clearer to the public how they can access their records stored by the Commission and how they can seek amendments to those records.