Legislation was introduced into Congress this week that would establish a national data privacy law. The bill would require businesses to disclose to consumers any breaches that result in the exposure of personal information.
The legislation is a reaction to the massive security breaches that have occurred over the last year. In the most notable breach, over 40 million credit card numbers were exposed in a security breach involving CardSystems, an online processor. LexisNexis, Bank of America and other corporate entities have also suffered breaches exposing the personal information of millions of individuals.
Under the new legislation, businesses exposing the personal information of more than 1,000 individuals would be required to notify the individuals. Failure to comply with the law would result in penalties of up to $11 million per incident. Interestingly, the legislation would bar businesses and schools from putting Social Security numbers on any form of identification.
Upon receiving notice, consumers would be allowed to put a notice on their credit reports, which would prevent any company from providing new credit under their name. This would effectively stop thieves from opening new credit accounts with the stolen information.
Will It Pass?
The new legislation has a very good chance of becoming federal law. Sponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats, the bill appears to have bipartisan support. Avoiding the vicious partisan politics on Capital Hill is half the battle for any legislation.
Corporate America also appears to be getting behind the bill. Although this might seem surprising at first, there is a good reason. States including California, Washington and Georgia have already enacted similar laws, but each requires different actions. A federal law, however, will trump all of the state laws and create a uniform requirement for businesses. From a practical standpoint, Corporate America would prefer one standard instead of many.
The new bipartisan legislation is a welcome step in the effort to fight identity theft. Many more steps, however, will be required. You should continue to closely review your credit card statements and credit reports for any unauthorized charges.
Richard Chapo is the lead attorney for the law firm http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - a firm providing legal advice to California businesses. Visit http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com to read more business law articles.
family-safe home cleaners Northbrook ..Recently the Los Angeles Transit workers are on Strike and... Read More
Mexican has tariffs on goods, which come into its country... Read More
The CBR taxes the Pakistani source income of nonresident individuals... Read More
As you know Delta Airlines is close to bankruptcy. Their... Read More
It is important as populations expand to work on the... Read More
Submiting the Criminals to The ICC!Everybody concerns about justice in... Read More
In discussing the OODA Loop theory on Limited War by... Read More
A. THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMPETITIONThe aims of competition (anti-trust) laws... Read More
In years past California Mutual Assistance Program and emergency response... Read More
Most government agencies cannot pass an audit of their expenses.... Read More
Well here is a great new product, we first saw... Read More
Just because we have been leading the World in innovation... Read More
With the world's largest oil and natural gas reserves, second... Read More
Freedom is in the eyes of the beholder. In Communist... Read More
In many reports we see that the Federal Trade Commission... Read More
As we reel from the news of the recent bombings... Read More
The TSA seems to have completely missed the ball at... Read More
The Palestinian Fatah Movement is doing whatever it can to... Read More
Streamlining Homeland Security with a Free market flair? An idea... Read More
City Governments is their quest for; "quality of life" often... Read More
Public utilities and a problematic issue on the allowance of... Read More
The UnbornWith all this cloning in the news one can't... Read More
What has really changed in the housing market with regards... Read More
The new law "Special Protective, Antidumping and Import Compensatory Measures"... Read More
We have all heard of the huge debates surrounding genetically... Read More
residential cleaning services Deerfield ..President George W. Bush has unofficially won his re-election bid... Read More
Due to the bizarre weather patterns this winter California got... Read More
User BaseThe non-US and non-English Web segments have been boosted... Read More
With people living longer we have some problems as those... Read More
With the recent threats from Bin Laden and Al Queda... Read More
In his bid for the presidency, John Kerry pronounced a... Read More
Originally published in 1958, "The Ugly American" (Lederer & Burdick)... Read More
President Bush and Secretary Powell should hang their heads in... Read More
America must implement a policy on Election Reform that is... Read More
Heavens, what are we up against? It seems these days... Read More
Let's put the religious part of the debate for a... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission has very important Anti-trust Laws. They... Read More
Many environmentalists are against roads through the forest because it... Read More
Last Summer the Federal Trade Commission came out with a... Read More
Legislation was introduced into Congress this week that would establish... Read More
The filibuster has been a tool available to U.S. Senators... Read More
Wealth Distribution is often discussed at length in periodicals such... Read More
This, of course, is a political decision. There is no... Read More
Recently in Maine, I talked with a gentleman and we... Read More
I. The FactsJust days before a much-awaited donor conference, the... Read More
For anyone who wishes to become an armchair General in... Read More
Here are some miscellaneous thoughts on issues many of which... Read More
Let's put it all into perspective: the U.S. has an... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission in their latest move to increase... Read More
An American soldier is taken behind enemy lines and brainwashed... Read More
Political |