Attorney General Proposing Legislation To Protect Hoosiers From ID Theft

The Indiana attorney general is proposing legislation he says would close legal loopholes and better protect Hoosiers from data breaches and identity theft. 

Attorney General Greg Zoeller says notable data breaches, such as those on Sony, Target and Home Depot, have consumers worried about ID theft.  He says he wants to bring some peace of mind to Hoosiers with legislation he’s pushing that would require companies that store consumer data to regularly review and delete that information.

“To make businesses aware that if you’re collecting the data from consumers that consumers have a reasonable expectation that if you no longer have a valid reason to keep, maintain, and store that information, that you’ll purge that information every once in a while,” Zoeller said.

Current law only requires companies to notify customers of a breach of electronic records, but the bill Zoeller’s proposing would also require notifications for breaches of paper and handwritten records.  The legislation would also mandate companies make their privacy notifications clearer and more visible on websites.