By J. Preston Carter, J.D., LL.M.
An ad campaign pushing Congress to pass a data security bill has been announced by the Financial Services Roundtable and several other financial trade associations. The groups are calling on Congress to pass the Data Security Act of 2015 (S. 961, H.R. 2205), a bill with bipartisan support, requiring all entities to protect consumer data as part of a data breach notification law. The measures would replace existing state security and data breach laws.
S. 961, introduced by Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del) in April 2015, is similar to a bill introduced in the previous Congress. H.R. 2205 was introduced in May 2015 by Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas).
The FSR press release states that “All entities that handle sensitive financial data should be required to protect that data. Financial institutions have had this obligation for 15 years, and it’s long overdue for Congress to pass legislation ensuring that everyone has a similar mandate to keep customer data safe.”
According to the release, the Data Security Act of 2015 would:
- build on existing federal data protection and consumer notice standards already in place for financial institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act by extending similar standards to all businesses that handle sensitive personal and financial data. There are no one-size-fits-all mandates, the bill is scalable taking into consideration a business’s size and operations.
- create uniform nationwide consumer protections and would replace the current patchwork of inconsistent state security and data breach laws with a clearly defined, uniform set of standards that ensures every U.S. citizen enjoys the same level of protection regardless of where they live.
- promote innovation in security rather than mandating a specific technology, such as a PIN, giving businesses room to develop cutting-edge security tools that will protect their customers.
The other trade associations supporting the effort are the American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, and The Clearing House.
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