The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is urging Congressional lawmakers to create a national data privacy standard that applies to all businesses and entities that collect and house data.
CUNA officials made the request at a recent hearing on privacy rights and data collection in the digital economy held by the Senate Banking Committee and House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
“Simply put: Congress cannot provide consumers with data privacy without addressing data security,” CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle wrote in a letter. “There is an urgent need for Congress to act to set a federal data privacy standard.”
CUNA said Congress should treat data privacy as a national security issue, given that there have been more than 10,000 data breaches in the United States since 2005 that have compromised nearly 12 billion consumer records. Many of these breaches are being perpetrated by foreign governments, organized crime syndicates, and rogue international actors. CUNA adds that all entities that hold and use consumer data should be subject to strong federal data security requirements. Further, the federal standard should preempt the patchwork of state laws.
“The American consumer is under attack and current federal law leaves the door open for criminals, terrorist organizations and foreign governments to steal payment and other personally identifiable information to the benefit of their illicit activity,” Nussle added. “Taking a narrow view that this debate is about Facebook, Amazon and Google would be a grave mistake. There is no way for Congress to provide consumers with the data privacy they need without enacting robust data security standards that are preemptive of state law and apply to everyone.”