Congress introduced additional data privacy bills earlier this month
• Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) reintroduced his Cybersecurity Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act, HR 836, on Feb. 6, to make it illegal to withhold information from the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service about a "major security breach."
• Rep. Smith also proposed a bill that would mandate Internet service providers to keep subscriber information to help in sex offender investigations. The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act or SAFETY Act, HR 837, would require ISPs and e-mail providers to record the names and addresses of all subscribers.
• Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Mary Bono (R-CA) announced the Spy Act, HR 964, which contains extensive regulations on what types of actions software may perform. Resetting the browser's home page is not allowed, for instance, but "good faith" efforts to remove malicious software are permitted.
• Reps. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) introduced a bill, HR 948, to make it unlawful to sell or buy Social Security numbers, an approach also proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Exceptions include law enforcement and national security purposes, public health reasons, research, "legitimate" consumer credit verification and emergency situations.
• Reps. John Dingell (D-MA) and Barton introduced the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act, HR 936, targeting pretexting of phone records. It would impose regulations on telephone companies. Customer information could be shared only if a customer gave "express prior authorization."
