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House should toughen, not weaken, protections against identity theft, says gun law expert
Washington, DC
Monday, July 24, 2006
"When the United States House of Representatives considers the issue of identity theft this week, it should take steps to strengthen protections against ID theft, rather than weaken existing protections," gun rights expert John M. Snyder said here this morning.
"We support H.R. 4127, the proposed Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA) introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida and reported unanimously by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to the full House four months ago," Snyder added. "This measure would instruct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate certain regulations. These regulations would require each person engaged in interstate or foreign commerce that owns or possesses data in electronic form containing personal information to establish and implement policies and procedures regarding information security practices for the treatment and protection of personal information"
H.R. 4127, Snyder said, "would require that each time a security breach of personal security is detected the intended target or victim of the breach be notified by the responsible party. We consider this one of the most significant features of the Stearns bill. Consequently, it was unfortunate that last week the House leadership indicated it would bring up this week a bill that does not contain this provision. Instead, we understand, the bill up for consideration, H.R. 3997, would allow companies that experience a security breach to notify individuals of a possible identity theft risk only after the company decides that consumers are at risk of harm or inconvenience. This really is a decision that should rest with the victim"
Late last week, Snyder noted, Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, pointed out that the ID theft measure the House leadership proposes for consideration this week would take from consumers ID theft protections now provided by individual states.
"On this particular issue, the House leadership should reconsider its position, table H.R. 3997, the weak bill, and bring up H.R. 4127, bi-partisan support for which already has been demonstrated. The solons may not yet realize it, but this is a matter of great importance to America's scores of millions of law-abiding gun owners. We need to provide the people strong protection from ID thieves, not give companies legal loopholes to weasel out of their responsibilities to the people from whom they make their money!"
Currently, Snyder believes, "there is a potential risk that an identity thief could undermine the legal safeguards against illegitimate acquisition of firearms instituted by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). When a potential firearm purchaser wishes to buy a gun through a Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer, the dealer runs an electronic records check through NCIC. If there is an indication of a criminal record prohibiting the potential sale to the potential buyer, the transaction legally may not take place. If there is no such record, the transaction may take place.
"We must do everything we possibly and reasonably can to ensure that no good firearm owner's honorable name is stolen by an identity thief and used to subvert NCIC in making a firearms purchase. We ought to prevent gun owners from having their identities stolen and having to face the possibly horrendous legal and economic consequences of such an occurrence"
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"We support H.R. 4127, the proposed Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA) introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida and reported unanimously by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to the full House four months ago," Snyder added. "This measure would instruct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate certain regulations. These regulations would require each person engaged in interstate or foreign commerce that owns or possesses data in electronic form containing personal information to establish and implement policies and procedures regarding information security practices for the treatment and protection of personal information"
H.R. 4127, Snyder said, "would require that each time a security breach of personal security is detected the intended target or victim of the breach be notified by the responsible party. We consider this one of the most significant features of the Stearns bill. Consequently, it was unfortunate that last week the House leadership indicated it would bring up this week a bill that does not contain this provision. Instead, we understand, the bill up for consideration, H.R. 3997, would allow companies that experience a security breach to notify individuals of a possible identity theft risk only after the company decides that consumers are at risk of harm or inconvenience. This really is a decision that should rest with the victim"
Late last week, Snyder noted, Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, pointed out that the ID theft measure the House leadership proposes for consideration this week would take from consumers ID theft protections now provided by individual states.
"On this particular issue, the House leadership should reconsider its position, table H.R. 3997, the weak bill, and bring up H.R. 4127, bi-partisan support for which already has been demonstrated. The solons may not yet realize it, but this is a matter of great importance to America's scores of millions of law-abiding gun owners. We need to provide the people strong protection from ID thieves, not give companies legal loopholes to weasel out of their responsibilities to the people from whom they make their money!"
Currently, Snyder believes, "there is a potential risk that an identity thief could undermine the legal safeguards against illegitimate acquisition of firearms instituted by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). When a potential firearm purchaser wishes to buy a gun through a Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer, the dealer runs an electronic records check through NCIC. If there is an indication of a criminal record prohibiting the potential sale to the potential buyer, the transaction legally may not take place. If there is no such record, the transaction may take place.
"We must do everything we possibly and reasonably can to ensure that no good firearm owner's honorable name is stolen by an identity thief and used to subvert NCIC in making a firearms purchase. We ought to prevent gun owners from having their identities stolen and having to face the possibly horrendous legal and economic consequences of such an occurrence"
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John Snyder
Manager
Telum Associates, LLC
Arlington, VA
202-326-5259
First Url: Telum Associates, LLC
