WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act to protect information that could reveal the identity of American investors by prohibiting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring brokers to submit investors’ personally identifiable information to its Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT).

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration’s SEC issued an order that exempts certain personally identifiable information consisting of investors’ names, addresses and years of birth from CAT reporting. This bill would permanently remove reporting requirements on investors’ personally identifiable information.

“Protecting the personal information of American investors helps build trust and confidence that encourages investments in our markets,” said Sen. Moran. “As adversaries target Americans’ personal data through cyberattacks, it is important that the SEC only keeps the data it needs instead of housing additional, personal information that could place investors at greater risk.”

“Americans assume their private information is secure when they invest money in the U.S. stock market,” said Sen. Kennedy. “However, the SEC’s unlawful Consolidated Audit Trail could put their data in jeopardy. My bill would protect American investors from foreign enemies and bad actors by preventing the SEC from collecting personal information it doesn’t need and storing it on a dangerous database.”

Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.).

The senators were joined by Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah).

The SEC’s CAT became operational on May 31, 2024, making it the largest government database of its kind. The CAT will collect all customer and order information for equity securities and listed options, including data that might be considered personally identifiable information. The SEC is implementing the CAT despite concerns from investor protection groups and the securities industry and in the wake of vulnerabilities that recent cyber-attacks have revealed at federal agencies.

The bill text can be read here.

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