Partner Alysa Z. Hutnik was quoted in the Compliance Week article, “White House, FTC Call for Data Security Legislation.” The article discusses the pressure that both the White House and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are putting on Congress to pass legislation that would require companies to implement data security measures and to provide breach notification. The Obama Administration sent a cyber- security legislative proposal to Congress in response to request for assistance in addressing U.S. cyber-security in May, including a measure for data security and breach notification. The FTC is pushing for legislation that would align with its enforcement policies that are already in place.

“The FTC wants to make sure that if legislation moves forward, that it is aligned with the FTC’s enforcement efforts to date,” said Ms. Hutnik. “The language in the various bills does reflect that they’re aligned with what the FTC is doing.” She added that the bonus factor is that if any of this legislation were enacted, it would give the FTC the ability to level civil penalties on the first violation, as opposed to having to get them under a settlement order first.

Compliance Week Quotes Partner Alysa Z. Hutnik on Calls for Data Security Legislation