September 21, 2006 - NEARLY 8 MONTHS AFTER SETTLEMENT OF MASSIVE CHOICEPOINT DATA BREACH, NO FUNDS HAVE BEEN DISPERSED TO THE VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT
Washington, DC -- Today Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), the top Democrat on the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee and a senior member of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, released a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras urging her to explain a press report that the FTC has not yet compensated identity theft victims over eight months after a settlement was reached with ChoicePoint following a massive data breach. The report by the Associated Press yesterday indicates that the FTC has not yet developed the procedures to distribute $5 million in settlement funds to almost 1,000 known ID theft victims after the massive ChoicePoint data breach. Rep. Markey, co-Chairman of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, has offered a number of measures to protect Americans’ privacy, including a bill to protect Social Security numbers and increase penalties for organizations that do not take steps to secure individuals’ health, financial and Internet privacy.
July 26, 2006 - SUCCESSFUL MARKEY BILL TO PROTECT PRIVACY AMERICANS' SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS COULD PREVENT FUTURE IDENTITY THEFT, STALKING, CRIME
Washington, DC -- Today, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and chair of the Privacy Caucus, announced the committee’s passage of a provision to protecting Americans’ Social Security numbers. This bipartisan bill would bring a halt to unregulated commerce in Social Security numbers, and would make it crime for a person to sell or purchase Social Security numbers in violation of rules put forth by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC would be given the power to restrict the sale of Social Security numbers, determine appropriate exemptions, and to enforce civil compliance with the bill’s restrictions. Markey welcomed the support of Republican Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Joe Barton, in passing the amendment to H.R. 1078, the Social Security Number Protection Act.
May 22, 2006- Data Security Breach Leaves 26.5 Million Veterans Vulnerable to Identity Theft
Washington, DC: Representative Edward Markey (D-MA), co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, made the following statement in response to breaking news that a theft at the home of a Veterans Affairs (VA) employee has resulted in the loss of personal information belonging to 26.5 million U.S. military veterans.
May 10, 2006- A Year Late and a Lot Out of Step: Administration Discovers Identity Theft Crisis
Washington, DC- Almost a year after the ChoicePoint data theft scandals rocked the country raising public concerns about identity theft, President Bush has announced his plans to launch a new executive order on identity theft, but the President’s dedication to the privacy of citizens is out of step with the legislation driven in Congress by his own party. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, made the following remarks on the President’s sudden concern about identity theft.
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