Markey's Consumer Warehousing Act Overly Broad

To little fanfare, Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) today a bill titled the "ELIMINATE WAREHOUSING OF CONSUMER INTERNET DATA ACT OF 2006".

Markey addressed the growing issue of identity theft and fraud by suggesting that the FTC act as a public guardian and force companies to destroy their consumer records after the appropriate transaction time is completed. The Congressional Record quotes Markey as saying, "...companies that gather personal information that can identify individual consumers should cease to store such information after it is no longer necessary to render service to such consumers or to conduct any legitimate business practice."

Representative Markey, whose staff runs one of the House's most technology-friendly web sites, likened the destruction of this data to the same destruction cable companies must undergo regarding viewers' data.

"Destroying data isn't the answer to data security," said Consumer Help Web president Joan Bounacos. "Representative Markey's zeal to protect Americans is commedable, but consumer data over time helps companies become more efficient by identifying trends at the individual and group level. That data mining helps companies keep costs lower for consumers. One could argue that a company would always have a need for this data and the bill itself would just clutter the legal system and burden an already overworked Federal Trade Commission."

Consumer Help Web supports additional security requirements for both industry and consumers and continues to work with both types of entities to help combat identity theft and fraud.

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 10:05 PM |