The FTC is stepping up privacy enforcement – reports Bloomberg Law‘s Sara Merken.
“The Federal Trade Commission is issuing specific data security requirements to companies as part of agency settlements, policing businesses more aggressively than before, attorneys and former staff said.”
“Mandates in related consent orders, such as directing senior officers to provide annual compliance certifications to the FTC, go father than previous requirements and will likely reappear in future orders in settlements with other companies.”
“The moves, and a separate proposal to add specific provisions to a financial data security rule, come as Congress weighs whether to give the commission more authority over companies’ data security and privacy practices.”
“Some of the specific requirements in recent FTC consent orders include new mandates to implement data access controls for databases that store personal information, encrypt certain data like Social Security numbers, as well as new obligations for third parties that assess the companies’ data security practices. ”