BIPARTISAN BILL PROTECTS CONSUMERS FROM SECURITY BREACHES INVOLVING THEIR DATA

Washington, May 12 - "This is the information age, and increasingly our personal and financial information is collected and transmitted through the digital economy," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL). "However, this information is used for criminal purposes such as identity theft. By better protecting our personal data, we can reduce crime and increase public comfort with the digital economy."

Stearns, joined by Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), offered H.R. 1841, the Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA) of 2011. Explained Stearns, "This bill represents a bipartisan approach to address growing security concerns, and would protect consumers from security breaches. As more and more commerce is done electronically, there remains a need for strong and specific security practices for businesses that keep personal information."

Stearns serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, and he was chairman of the panel earlier when it was the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. "As chairman of the subcommittee, I held hearings on this issue and I offered a data security bill. This legislation is based upon this earlier bill. H.R. 1841 requires the Federal Trade Commission to make regulations requiring each person that owns or possesses electronic data, including personal information, to establish necessary security policies and procedures. Furthermore, it would require institutions to notify consumers of security breaches unless there is no reasonable risk of identity theft. I look forward to working with Chairwoman Bono Mack (R-CA) on enacting legislation to protect our data."