Information Technology Acts The evolution of technology has made sharing information easier. Growing businesses thrive from knowing their audience. In order to survive, companies rely on any information they can obtain to boost their bottom line. The wireless boom has made computers faster and cellphones smarter. These luxuries come at a cost to the consumers. The Federal Trade Commission created the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1970. Originally, this act was created as a tool for consumers to track information reported by Equifax, Transunion, and Experian. The primary purpose of this act gives consumers the right to know what personal information these bureaus are sharing and selling. Names, addresses, employment and payment history, court orders, and open lines of credit are just some of the personal information sold. The FCRA requires any business entity to have legally permissible purpose for obtaining a credit report. The act goes even further giving consumers the ability to stop the sharing of information with third parties and the use of the information for marketing by affiliates. Predatory lending is now an issue. Financial institutes offer products to lower income customers at higher interest rates to make money. Companies are required to dispose of credit reports properly. The word identity theft is now a commonly used phrase. Consumers now have the right to place fraud alerts on their credit reports. Sharing medical information is also illegal. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects the privacy, use, and disclosure of protected health information. The primary purpose of HIPAA is to protect people from losing their health insurance if they change jobs or have pre-existing health conditions. Creating standard electronic layouts for countless administrative transactions typically written on paper reduces the costs and administrative encumbrances. The HIPAA act develops standards and requirements to protect the privacy and security of confidential healthcare information. In our office, HIPAA laws restrict co-workers from disclosing another colleague’s medical condition. Unless the colleagues gives consent to share the information with everyone no information is to be shared. The same rule applies for business entities. Without written consent from a patient, a business may not use or disclose protected health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. Companies cannot use medical information to prescreen new or existing customers for any credit or insurance product solicitations. If medical information is needed to verify income, the business who first obtained the information may only tell another business that the income was verified. They are not permitted to share the medical information. In conclusion, the FCRA and HIPAA are acts put in place to protect the consumer. Customers now have a right to know declination reasons. Credit and debit card printed receipts may not contain more than the last five digits of the card number, or the card expiration date at the point of sale or transaction. Active duty military personnel are able to place alerts on their consumer report for at least 12 months. As technology continues to advance, these laws will have to change in order to keep up with the times.