In a Senate hearing Wednesday, consumer privacy advocates said that Congress should pass new sweeping laws and policies to protect against data breaches, unwanted data collection, and identity theft. Back in September, Democrats included $1 billion for the FTC in a proposed spending bill to fund a new bureau overseeing “unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to privacy, data security, identity theft, data abuses, and related matters.”
However, Republicans say that throwing money at the issue won’t solve the problem, and that bi-partisan legislation is needed. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss said that fixing the problem any other way would “create significant regulatory uncertainty for businesses and confuse consumers.” We will continue to monitor progress on this issue.
