Fergie's Tech Blog

California Bill Would Put Data Breach Responsibility On Retailers

K.C. Jones writes on InformationWeek:

California's legislature has moved a data protection bill that would shift the burden of consumer notification regarding data breaches away from financial institutions and onto retailers.

"We are encouraged that the momentum created by the bipartisan passage of the bill in the Assembly has continued to this point in the Senate," California Credit Union League president and CEO Bill Cheney said in a prepared statement. "This is a vital measure for California consumers and the credit unions that serve them. Data thefts are on the rise in the retail sector, and consumers increasingly find that information stolen at the retail level is used to commit identity theft and plastic card fraud. We must act quickly to close the loopholes in existing law that have allowed retailers to have a pass on this issue for far too long."

The California Senate Judiciary Committee passed AB 779 by a 3-1 vote on Tuesday. The California Assembly overwhelmingly approved a matching bill, authored by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, in early June, but there's no guarantee it will become law.

posted by Fergie @ 6/28/2007 10:29:00 AM