Social Security Tracking on Rise

The number of Americans tracked by their Social Security number for everything from credit applications to health-care services has increased in recent years, according to a new report by the General Accounting Office.

The report sparks new concerns over privacy issues and will likely trigger congressional hearings into whether new federal laws are needed to protect individual rights, said Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., a Republican from Florida in charge of the Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee.

The Social Security Administration estimates that about 227 million individuals have a Social Security number. New technologies have made these numbers more available to both private companies and government agencies.

“The boom in computer technology over the past several decades has prompted private businesses and government agencies to rely on [Social Security numbers] as a way to accumulate and identify information in their databases,” Cynthia M. Fagnoni, who oversees income security issues for the GAO, said in the report.

Federal laws now require that the Social Security number be used in the administration of programs such as the federal personal income tax program. Other federal agencies use the Social Security number but are required to keep the information confidential.

“No federal law, however, imposes broad restrictions on businesses’ and state and local governments’ use of [Social Security numbers] when that use is unrelated to a specific federal requirement,” Fagnoni said in the report.

The rapid growth of information brokers--businesses that collect personal information for resale--and the vast amount of information on the Internet have led to concerns that Social Security numbers are too easily available, Shaw said.

“This is tough because allowing limited use of the Social Security number has in many ways improved our lives,” Shaw said. “At the same time, we must guard against any infringement on our fundamental right to privacy enshrined in the Constitution.

“Our Social Security subcommittee will hold hearings this year to make sure there is a proper balance,” he added.