R.I. retailers prohibited from asking for SS numbers

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island merchants and retailers can no longer ask for any part of a customer’s Social Security number for any reason under a new measure signed into law by Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee.
The new statute expands the state’s Social Security privacy laws, which previously prohibited merchants from requiring Social Security numbers on check or for various transactions.
Sponsors of the new legislation said some businesses were still asking for part of an individual’s number so they could match a record already in their files or the customers would be tracked in case of a bad transaction.
The newly enacted law will prohibit the use of or request for “all or part of” an individual’s Social Security number.
The measure was approved by both General Assembly chambers last month and was signed into law by Chafee.
The bills were sponsored by Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-Providence.
The R.I. Consumer Empowerment and Identity Theft Prevention Act also prohibits requiring a Social Security number as a condition of getting a discount card from retailers, and prevents government agencies and businesses from requiring the numbers for various non-Social Security purposes.