Rhode Island § 6-52-1 - Safe Destruction of Documents Containing Personal Information

§ 6-52-1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Business” means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, limited liability company, or other group, however organized and whether or not organized to operate at a profit, including a financial institution organized, chartered, or holding a license or authorization certificate under the laws of this state or any other state, or the parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of a financial institution. This term includes any entity that destroys records, including, but not limited to, the state, a state agency, or any political subdivision of the state.

(2) “Customer” means an individual who provides personal information to a business for the purpose of purchasing or leasing a product or obtaining a service from the business or whose personal information has been provided to another business from that business.

(3) “Personal information” means the following information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with a particular individual: his or her signature; social security number; physical characteristics or description; passport number; driver’s license or state identification card number; insurance policy number; bank account number; credit card number; debit card number; any other financial information or confidential health care information, including all information relating to a patient’s health care history; diagnosis condition; treatment; or evaluation obtained from a health care provider who has treated the patient which explicitly or by implication identifies a particular patient.

(4) “Record” means any material, regardless of the physical form, on which personal information is recorded or preserved by any means, including written or spoken words, graphically depicted, printed, or electromagnetically transmitted. Record does not include publicly available directories containing information an individual has voluntarily consented to have publicly disseminated or listed, such as name, address, or telephone number.