Bismarck Tribune: Privacy vote could start trend

Voters in North Dakota on Tuesday sent a firm message to the financial services industry when they voted almost 3 to 1 to prevent banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions from selling consumer information to others without first getting their customer’s permission.

This is an issue of increasing importance — in my opinion, somewhat delayed because of the events of September 11th which put privacy issues, for the moment, largely on the back burner.

The North Dakota vote seems to send a clear message to the financial services industry — a message they certainly haven’t wanted to hear.

Here’s the New York Times story on the vote.