Preisdent Barack Obama wants U.S. Congress to pass a new legislation that would set a 30-day allowance for companies to inform customers of the discovery of a data breach when sensitive information is compromised. Dubbed as the "Personal Data Notification and Protection Act," the legislation authorizes the FTC to impose penalties on non-complying companies. It will also make selling stolen data abroad as a criminal act.
According to Obama, the rising problem of identity theft costs billions of dollars. It can also ruin a person's life. The U.S. alone has seen a number of massive vulnerabilities that were brought by technology and digital innovation. One example is the recent data breach on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
"Sometimes folks don't even find out their credit card information has been stolen until they see charges on their bill and then it's too late," said Obama while making a speech at Federal Trade Commission. "So under the new standard that we're proposing, companies would have to notify consumers of a breach within 30 days."
Obama is also seeking Congress to pass the "Student Digital Privacy Act" which aims to protect student privacy. The law would prevent companies from selling information of a student to third parties wherein the purpose is not really related to education but for others such as advertising.
"We applaud President Obama for standing up for school children, who deserve the opportunity to use educational websites and apps to enrich their learning without fear that their personal information will be exploited for commercial purposes or fall into the wrong hands," said CEO James Steyer of Common Sense Media.
Obama also called for a bill of rights that would focus on data privacy. It was a concept that he had introduced back in 2012. Under this law, citizens are assured that they would know what type of information that online retailers and companies are gathering about them and how such information is used. They will be given the right to demand that the data should be used solely for its original purpose. Moreover, the law would require companies to use secure systems when storing an individual's personal information.
"We pioneered the Internet, but we also pioneered the Bill of Rights and a sense that each of us as individuals have a sphere of privacy around us that should not be breached," added Obama.
