Data Breach Bill Advances Despite Partisan Fight

Yesterday the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade passed the "Safe Data Act" (HR 2577) after a grueling, partisan fight.

An amendment which included a provision banning certain use of pretexting was defeated. NCISS is actively fighting efforts to include limitations on the lawful use of pretext. We are joined by allies in this battle.

HR 2577 requires that entities holding personal information on individuals protect the data and report any breaches of the information.

Democrats on the Subcommittee, led by Representative Henry Waxman (CA) and Bobby Rush (IL), strongly opposed the bill, arguing that it did not provide sufficient consumer protection. Rep. Rush offered a substitute amendment which would have replaced the entire bill with the provisions of his own legislation which passed the House last year only to die in the Senate. The amendment included a provision banning the use of pretexting to obtain personal information. His amendment lost on a 9-10 vote.

NCISS opposed Rep. Rush's bill last year and will continue to resist any attempts to restrict the use of pretexting for lawful investigations.

Democratic members of the Subcommittee also offered several amendments that would have expanded the definition of personal information. Each of those amendments was defeated. Expanding the definition would cause businesses to report many more data breaches than under the definition in the bill.

The bill will go next to the full Energy & Commerce Committee. Subcommittee Chair Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) said during the markup (voting session) that she would work with Democrats in an attempt to forge a bipartisan agreement. It may be difficult to achieve that goal because of the rancor that developed yesterday. At one point, Rep. Waxman required the subcommittee clerk to read the bill aloud word for word.

Keeping the profession informed,