Consumer Advocacy Firm Calls For Criminal Penalties Regarding Data Breaches

With yet another lapse in data security threatening the identity of thousands of Americans, Consumer Help Web President Joan Bounacos called today for stricter legislation regarding personal information. Bounacos said she will ask key Senators and other lawmakers to endorse legislation that would attach criminal penalties to the secure handling of data.

“Civil penalties are fine when they work,” said the consumer advocate. “We have criminal penalties when the data is misused for gain. Why don’t we have criminal penalties for when the data is mishandled?”

Bounacos joined media outlets in questioning why federal government contractor Unisys did not report the missing data for three days. “With law enforcement resources put to work immediately, perhaps the data breach could have been stopped in its tracks. If Unisys truly did wait 72 hours before notifying authorities, then they should bear some burden of responsibility for the misuse of any data that result from their delay.”

Consumer Help Web, Inc., headquartered just outside Washington, D.C, is one of the nation’s leading private Internet outlets for consumers who have a complaint. The company has lobbied hundreds of organizations on behalf of consumers and won settlements totaling tens of thousands of dollars while sparing consumers and business costly litigation or time consuming regulatory actions. The company has contract employee relationships in six states.

Tags: data , advocacy , Bounacos

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 12:16 AM |