Posted: | October 30, 2019 04:23 PM |
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From: | Senator Gene Yaw |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Protecting Pennsylvanians Personal Information |
Countless incidents over the past few years have shown that our personal information is at risk. Equifax, Facebook, Target, Sears, Delta, and more have all had their customers’ personal details (i.e. credit card numbers and social security numbers) hacked. We need to do more to defend Pennsylvanians' private, personal information from falling into the wrong hands. My legislation, a companion to House Bill 1010, aims to do so in two ways. First, it mandates that any company or entity that maintains personal information takes reasonable measures to secure that information from hacking. Moreover, they must compensate consumers in the event that this information is breached. Second, this bill would provide for a private right of action so that consumers have recourse for damages they suffer due to a data breach. Right now only the Pennsylvania Attorney General has the authority to bring action for violations of the Pennsylvania Breach of Personal Information Notification Act. Under this bill, the Attorney General will still be able to take action, but it will empower private citizens to take action as well. I hope you will join this effort to protect the personal and private information of our constituents. |
Introduced as SB955