Calif. bill forces retailers to protect data

It's actually been a pretty productive couple weeks in the Legislature on issues related to privacy. Two RFID regulation bills are now sitting on the Governor's desk, and now Dave Jones bill to force retailers to protect your data - such as the information on your credit card for instance - has also made it to Schwarzeneggers desk to await a signature or a veto.

CFC has actively supported this bill all year, so we are especially happy to see it get out of the legislature.

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, said many businesses fail to take even the most basic measures to protect that information, creating an opening for identity thieves. His bill would prohibit, under most circumstances, any company that takes credit card or debit card information from retaining account numbers, verification codes or personal identification numbers.

....

...it would require retailers only to pay the cost of notifying customers when their personal data had been compromised. Businesses would have to tell customers when and how the breach occurred, and say who was to blame.

I'd be shocked if the Governor didn't sign this bill, particularly in light of the fact that it passed the Assembly by a vote of 62-1...which kind of drives home the fact that identity theft is becoming a really serious problem in this country.

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