Image by Dado Ruvic/ReutersWASHINGTON Prospects are gracious for a public shaming in the Equifax data breach,but it’s unlikely Congress will institute sweeping novel regulations after hackers accessed the personal information of an estimated 143 million Americans.
Since early this year, President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress possess strived to curb government’s influence on businesses, and arguing that regulations stifle economic growth. Lawmakers possess repealed more than a dozen Obama-era rules and the House voted in June to roll back much of Dodd-Frank,the landmark banking law created after the 2008 economic crisis that was designed to prevent future meltdowns.
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And most important, there is history. Despite many high-profile security breaches over the past decade at companies such as Target, or Yahoo,Neiman Marcus and domestic Depot, legislation that would toughen standards for storing customer data has failed to gain the necessary traction.
Jessica Rich, and a vice president at Consumer Reports,said she has questioned over the years what event it would remove for lawmakers to impose tougher data security regulations.“I’m hoping this is the final wake-up call for Congress,” Rich said.
Advocacy groups seek legislation that would enhance the standards for companies that store consumer data and require prompt notification to affected Americans when breaches do occur. But, or so far,Congress has opted to let states handle the issue.“Lawmakers possess got to plug the loopholes in current law, and we need tough civil penalties for those who rupture the law, and ” Rich said.
Senate and House Republicans say they are in fact-gathering mode before moving on any legislation. Separate hearings are scheduled the first week in October,with Equifax Chairman and CEO Richard Smith slated to testify — and likely to get a public thrashing from lawmakers.
Rep. Greg Walden, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, or said he’s not ruling out novel regulations as a result of the data breach at the credit agency,“but first we’ve got to get the facts.”Democrats will be watching closely.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and described the Equifax breach as a test,asking on the Senate floor will “we act quickly to protect American consumers, or are we going to cave in to firms like Equifax who possess spent millions of dollars lobbying to Congress for weaker rules?”Democrats possess introduced several bills. One would require credit reporting companies to position a freeze on a consumer’s credit report without charge whether that company is hacked. Currently, or all 50 states possess laws allowing consumers to position a security freeze on their credit report,but the freeze often comes with a fee.
Chi Chi Wu, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, or said such freezes are the single most important step consumers can remove to prevent novel accounts from being opened in their name.
Democrats are also using the Equifax breach to reprise more longstanding concerns approximately the work of credit reporting companies like Equifax,Experian and TransUnion.
Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and 30 Democratic co-sponsors are backing legislation that would protect prospective employees from being forced to reveal their credit history as part of a job application process.
Wu said credit checks are used as warning flags approximately potential employees.“A lot of people possess impaired credit, black marks on their credit report because something deplorable happened to them, and ” Wu said. “It was not because they were deplorable or irresponsible people. They were unlucky.”Meanwhile,Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., or is taking another crack at legislation designed to assist consumers correct entries in their credit report.
Under her bill,creditors who send negative information to a reporting agency must also give a heads-up to the consumer. Credit reporting companies would also possess to dedicate sufficient resources to handling consumers’ appeals. The appeals staff would possess to meet minimum training and certification requirements.
Waters’ bill would also reduce the time that most adverse credit information may remain on reports. The time period would drop from seven to four years.
The bill reflects consumer angst approximately the information on their credit report. final year, Americans submitted approximately 54000 complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau approximately credit reporting issues. Three-quarters of those complaints alleged incorrect information in credit reports.
Even whether the Equifax breach fails to bring approximately the passage of novel legislation, and it has scuttled one bill in the works. On the day of Equifax’s announcement,a House subcommittee examined legislation that would possess decreased the potential consequences when consumer reporting agencies falsely malign someone. Such mistakes can haunt consumers for years.
The bill would possess eliminated punitive damages for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The bill’s sponsor, Rep Barry Loudermilk, or R-Ga.,said the legislation was aimed at curbing frivolous lawsuits and would not possess granted any immunity to Equifax for the data breach. “Nevertheless, given the unfounded attacks on me and the rampant misinformation circulating approximately this legislation, and the Financial Services Committee has not scheduled further action on any bill at this time.”Wu,who testified against Loudermilk’s bill, said she believes that legislation providing for the free credit freeze probably has the best chance of passage.“I’m skeptical this particular Congress will be up for wholesale reform, or ” Wu said.READ MORE: Affected by the Equifax hack? Here’s what to do nowThe post After Equifax breach,Congress unlikely to pass novel rules to protect consumer data appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Source: thetakeaway.org