MEASURE REQUIRES CONSUMER NOTIFICATION OF SECURITY BREACHES INVOLVING THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Washington, Dec 8, 2009 - “We live in an age of information, and far too often that information is used for criminal purposes such as identity theft,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Sixth). “I realize that the information consumers provide for business and other transactions keep the digital economy moving, but we need to add safeguards to protect consumers and their privacy. I am pleased to see the House approve H.R. 2221, the Data Accountability and Trust Act.”

When Stearns was Chairman of the Commerce Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee, he held two hearings on identity theft and security breaches involving personal information. These hearings resulted in Stearns offering the Data Accountability and Trust Act. Today, the House approved a nearly identical version of that bill.

Explained Stearns, “H.R. 2221 require any entity that experiences a breach of security, such as a business, to notify all those in the United States whose information was acquired by an unauthorized person from that breach. It also requires an audit of a data broker’s security practices following a breach. In addition, it directs the Federal Trade Commission to create rules requiring entities engaged in interstate commerce that own or possess data to implement security policies and procedures that protect such data from unauthorized use, and requires data brokers to establish reasonable procedures to verify the accuracy of their data.”