Today at the Federal Trade Commission, President Obama is set to unveil new plans for data privacy and identity theft protections. “The President delivers remarks and lays out his next steps in his plan to improve confidence in technology by tackling identity theft and improving consumer and student privacy,” says the White House schedule of the talk, which slotted to start a few minutes before noon Eastern.
Two new pieces of legislation are anticipated, reports The New York Times: First, the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act, which would create a national 30-day standard for companies to disclose to customers that their data has been stolen. (Currently, a collection of state rules create a confusing legal environment for companies coping with data breach disclosure.) Second, the Student Data Privacy Act, which would protect students and educators’ information from technology companies.
Obama has been delivering spoilers for his legislative proposals to get the citizenry pumped ahead of his State of the Union Address next week. The intentional leaks—or “SOTU spoilers”—buck against the executive office’s typical strategy of keeping everything secret until day of the address.
Cyber security has become a top priority for government and private companies since a series of high profile breaches have rocked U.S. enterprises. In November, Sony Pictures Entertainment discovered it had been breached—an event culminating in the president calling out North Korea as responsible for the attack. Before that, J.P. Morgan, Home Depot and Target suffered other notable breaches.
Tune in here for video, and coverage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m60poYIwTfc
*1:13: Apparently hacked @CENTCOM Twitter account seems to have been suspended. More information here.
12:32: President Obama thanks the FTC and leaves stage.
*12:30: During President Obama’s speech, U.S. Central Command’s Twitter account appears to have been hacked by ISIS sympathizers and it has leaked apparently sensitive information.
12:30: President Obama touts California having recently passed data privacy legislation that protects student data from being subject to targeted advertising and marketing.
12:28: President Obama proposed the Student Digital Privacy Act, which would prevent companies from using data collected on students in classrooms for marketing. That information should only be used for education, he says.
12:25: President Obama says “we want to make sure our children being smart and safe online.” Companies should not be collecting information on kids without the permission of parents, he says.
12:22: President Obama proposes “a single strong national standard” so that Americans know when their information has been breached or misused. He proposes a 30-day standard. Right now there is a costly “patchwork” of state-by-state disclosure laws, he says.
12:20: Obama says this week he’s addressing consumer and student data privacy protections, cyber security improvements and broadband access.
12:15: Obama takes stage at FTC. He used to work with Ramirez at the Harvard Law Review, he says.
12:12: Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez begins introducing President Obama.
11:55: Talk scheduled to begin.
* Updated with information about the apparent hacking of U.S. Central Command’s Twitter account (@CENTCOM), which occurred during the President’s speech at the FTC.
