Internet Policy

Identity Theft and Data Security

The subcommittee has held a series of hearings on identity theft and data security. Stearns authored H.R. 1841, the Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA Act). The measure protects consumers by requiring notification of security breaches and establishes stronger procedures for protecting consumer information. Stearns is working closely with Chairman Bono Mack on her data bill, so that a compromise between the two bills can be reached.  

Privacy

The subcommittee has held a series of hearings on privacy, an issue long followed by Congressman Stearns.  In April, Congressman Stearns introduced H.R. 1528, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2011, which requires companies to draft clear, easy to understand privacy policy statements and encourages self-regulatory practices.  Mr. Stearns is currently working on a privacy bill to allow consumers to request from websites the information that is collected on them.  Currently consumers in the European Union have this ability, but consumers in the United States do not.  Finally, Mr. Stearns has sent a letter to Facebook requesting information on it’s privacy policy and plans to spend time this Congress analyzing how companies adhere to their own privacy policies.