Privacy

The issue of federal data protection legislation is gaining ground in the wake of increasing incidents of data and identity theft. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, said that recent incidents are forcing congress to look again at the fundamental issues of the privacy debate. "The commercialization, or monetizing [of] consumer data has made protecting it far more complex and important given its value in the wired marketplace," Stearns said.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said recently that legislation is likely necessary to make data collection firms "bear greater responsibility for the security and integrity" of information they sell. Barton suggested there might be a need to consider national standards for protecting consumers when their personal information is lost or wrongfully disclosed by a data broker.

And Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) is moving to strengthen her identity theft legislative proposal. The Senate Judiciary Committee is considering Feinstein's bill, and the notion of a national notification law will likely be a major source of questions to officials from the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI and the Secret Service.

Privacy is on lawmakers' and businesses' agenda as never before. ChoicePoint, LexisNexis and Bank of America, companies whose data security was recently breached, have publicly declared support for legislation that would require data collection companies to notify consumers in the event of their data being compromised. However, the preferred solution is for all businesses, online or offline, that handle private data to adhere to the highest standards of security and protection.