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US President Barack Obama is reportedly readying up proposals for a law to make consumer information theft more transparent.
The new legislation would mean companies would be forced to reveal any hack or breach within 30 days of the attack, as reported by the NYT.
The act would also make it illegal for US-based companies to sell a person’s information outside of the states.
“As cybersecurity threats and identity theft continue to rise, recent polls show that nine in 10 Americans feel they have in some way lost control of their personal information — and that can lead to less interaction with technology, less innovation and a less productive economy,” reads a White House document briefing the new laws.
It would make up part of the soon-to-be proposed Personal Data Notification and Protection Act, due to be unveiled by the US President at the Federal Trade Commission later today.
Obama’s proposals follow a series of high-profile attacks on big technology services, including Apple’s iCloud, photo-messenger app Snapchat and, most recently, Sony Pictures.
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It’s worth mentioning that this is US-only legislation, and these rules won’t apply to the UK.
Fortunately however, many large technology firms that service UK consumers are based in the US, so denizens of our green and pleasant land will still benefit from the new act.
The new Act could be the impetus for similar legislation proposals in the UK, although there’s nothing to suggest this is the case thus far.
