Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Data breach bill introduced in House of Representatives, (Jul 10, 2015)

By Brian Hammond,TRDaily

Rep. David Cicilline (D., R.I.) has introduced legislation to require companies that store personal information on more than 10,000 customers to take steps to try to prevent data breaches.

The Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2015 would require companies to notify consumers and federal law enforcement following a major data breach. Information protected under the legislation includes Social Security numbers, usernames and passwords, biometric data, geolocation, information on a "person's health and well-being," and private photos. Rep. Cicilline said he has 11 co-sponsors of the legislation.

“Today, consumers are providing more personal information than ever before to major companies. Consumers expect that this information will be kept secure, and Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the corporations holding this data take measures to protect it,” Rep. Cicilline said. “That’s why I am introducing the Consumer Privacy Protection Act today to modernize standards for protecting consumer data and provide some much-needed peace of mind for American consumers.”

The House bill is a companion to one offered in the Senate earlier this year by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Consumer groups praised the introduction of the legislation.

"This bill creates a strong federal standard of privacy protections without preempting those state laws that have an even higher standard of protection,” said Chris Lewis, Vice President of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge. “The bill also preserves the system of data security at the Federal Communications Commission that has been an integral part of privacy protections on essential communications networks. The FCC and FTC have worked in concert on a variety of consumer protections over the years and this bill will preserve that successful balance of authority.”

“Consumer Action believes that consumers whose accounts or personal information are subject to a data breach deserve to know about the breach as soon as possible,” said Linda Sherry, national priorities director at Consumer Action. “The Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2015 would ensure consumers are notified, provide civil penalties for companies that fail to notify customers as required as well as create a strong federal breach notice without impacting stronger state laws.”

News: Privacy