Headlining the day, the FTC announced that Facebook agreed to settle the Commission’s charges that it deceived consumers. The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to enhance its privacy practices, including the terms for which it provides notice to consumers and provides for consent for information sharing, and it would require the Company to undergo privacy audits over the next two decades. The settlement underscores the need for broad privacy legislation, this is further confirmation that the FTC’s long-standing authority over unfair or deceptive trade practices is sufficient for providing thorough enforcement in the privacy arena.
Keeping the cybersecurity train moving forward in the House, and keeping consistent with the House Cybersecurity Task Force goal to address cyber on an individual basis within the committees of jurisdiction, there are two cyber developments scheduled for this week. First Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) will unveil new bipartisan cybersecurity legislation on Wednesday to provide the government “the authority to share classified cyber threat information on potential attacks with approved American companies.”
And on Thursday, the House Small Business Committee will hold a cyber hearing on protecting small businesses, where Phyllis Schneck, Vice President for McAfee, Inc., will be testifying on behalf of SIIA. The hearing will also include testimony from Task Force leader Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), highlighting the recent recommendations of the House Task Force.
David LeDuc is Senior Director, Public Policy at SIIA. He focuses on e-commerce, privacy, cyber security, cloud computing, open standards, e-government and information policy.