Data Protection Legislation
Continues to be Debated
House DATA Act Passes Out of Committee

The Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA), introduced by longtime privacy advocate Cliff Stearns (R-FL), passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently by a 41-0 vote. The bill is not likely to have an impact on Kids in the Know members due to the way it defines "personal information" as name plus social security number, drivers license number, or financial account number. The language from the managerís amendment mentioned in the previous Kids in the Know update was not included, thereby keeping the standard of notifying consumers of a security breach to a "significant" risk of ID theft. Rep. John Dingell, ranking Democrat on the committee, said, ìThe bill sends a clear message: 'If you can't protect it, don't collect it.'"

In addition, the House Financial Services Committee recently passed the Financial Data Protection Act of 2005, a data protection bill directed at financial companies and sensitive financial account information - a credit card number or debit card number, in combination with any security code, access code, biometric code, password, or other personal identification information that would allow access to the financial account. This bill would not affect Kids in the Know members, but further shows that Congress is ready to act on identity theft and protecting consumerís personal information. The bill passed on a 48-17 vote.

The three other data protection bills - Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act, and the Identity Theft Protection Act - all remain on the Senate calendar but it remains doubtful that legislation will be passed this year with the legislative calendar crowded for the remainder of this short session. The Senate is out on recess for the next two weeks and reconvenes Monday, April 24.


In the States

State legislatures continue to introduce data protection legislation. Massachusetts recently put together a large identity theft initiative that includes a section on breaches of personal information. The bill however would not affect Kids in the Know members because of its limited definition of personal information.

States are also introducing other privacy related bills in addition to data protection legislation. The New Jersey legislature recently introduced the Adolescentsí Online Privacy Protection Act, which would regulate the disclosure of personal information collected from adolescents by an operator of a Web site or online service. However, Kids in the Know members would not be affected as the bill focuses on commercial Web sites that have information that is not beneficial to adolescents.

We will continue to monitor the legislation both in Congress and in the state legislatures and keep you informed on all future actions.