The Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA)

An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. House of Representatives will soon be considering the Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA). If passed it would require all companies to inform customers of security breaches that affect their personal data. The bill requires consumers to be told if their privacy has been violated because of a breach. Under the proposals, if a breach does occur, a company must notify any customers concerned and the FTC, which can then demand an audit."

Comments

Long Overdue

[TripMaster Monkey]

It's about time a law like this was enacted.

On the average, I tend towards favoring less legislation, rather than more, but the simple fact is since it is not in the companies' best interests to disclose information about security failures, it can't be too much of a shock when they decide not to. This law is necessary to safeguard the information that citizens entrust to these companies, and given how inextricably our society is intertwined with the digital realm in this day and age, it's way overdue.