A recent ruling by the Vermont Superior Court determined that the state's opt-in privacy regulations for financial institutions--under which companies can't use a customer's personal information for marketing or sell it unless the customer opts in to that program--are constitutional. Insurance groups filed the lawsuit claiming that the opt-in regulations violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. The court ruled that the state had the authority to regulate privacy practices to protect the personal information of consumers. (American Council of Life Insurers v. Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities, and Healthcare Administration, Washington Superior Court, No. 56-1-02, 2004)