Rep Bono Mack Introduces Secure and Fortify Electronic Data Act; Schedules July 20 Vote

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) has introduced HR 2577, the Secure and Fortify Electronic (SAFE) Data Act, to protect consumers from data theft. The bill would require companies to notify affected customers and the feds of any breaches of personal information.

If the breach involved Internet service providers, they would be responsible for the notification and for preventing further breaches. The FTC would be charged with coming up with regulations on data security requiring companies to come up with safeguards.Violators could be fined up to $5 million for not doing that, and up to another $5 million for security breaches. "My legislation is crafted around a guiding principle: Consumers should be promptly informed when their personal information has been jeopardized," said Bono Mack. "The time has come for Congress to take decisive action. We need a uniform national standard for data security and data breach notification, and we need it now."

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade has scheduled a markup of the SAFE Data Act on July 20.