Seisint Breach Will Lead to New Federal Laws

In the wake of the yet another scandal involving the loss of consumer’s personal information by a business, again from Seisint, this time numbering, so far, 310,000 additional people, Congress is primed to act.

Unlike many other political issues which seem to automatically cleave along party lines, Democrats and Republicans seem not only united in their outrage, but determined to do something about it.

Consider this quote from Congressman Joe Barton, a Republican who heads the Energy and Commerce Committee: "Once again we're forced to ask, why should it continue to be legal to sell a person's Social Security number without permission? If it takes a new law to protect people from identity thieves, so be it."

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a well known liberal Democrat, said flat out: "Not doing anything is not an option."

Of course, the Republican party controls both houses of Congress and the White House. But it seems that no amount of furious lobbying by information brokers will be able to completely forestall legislation. Given the rate of ID theft, this certainly will look good to the people back home when Senators and Representatives are running for reelection. Even more so for Republicans, who are generally seen as a little more pro-business, and anti-consumer -- this is chance to show that they do believe that sometimes government can be a force for good.

Information brokers can still make their case to influence what kind of laws will be passed. In addition, there will be horse trading and compromising as different members of Congress make their case for their proposals.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings on Wednesday, April 13, on the practices of information brokers.

Two Democrats, Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Bill Nelson of Florida, on Tuesday introduced "The Comprehensive Identity Theft Prevention Act." See the previous Privacy Law Site posting for more information about the bill.

Senator Feinstein's proposal would enact a federal version of California's law requiring that consumers be notified in their information may have accessed by unauthorized individuals.

Her proposed bill serves as a reminder that state laws can also have an effect on businesses, and can drive federal legislation.