Hope Emerges At Senate Data Security Hearing – But Will Congress Grab The Brass Ring?

On October 6, 2021, the Senate Commerce Committee conducted its second in a series of hearings dedicated to consumer privacy and data, this time addressing Data Security. Similar to last week's privacy hearing, the witnesses and Senators appeared to agree that federal data security standards - whether as part of privacy legislation or on their own - are urgently needed. If there were to be consensus around legislative principles, the hearing provides clues about what a compromise might look like.

Prepared Statements. In their opening statements, the witnesses emphasized the need for minimum standards governing data security.

• James E. Lee, Chief Operating Officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center, explained that without minimum requirements, companies lack sufficient incentives to strengthen their data security practices to protect consumer data. Lee also advocated for more aggressive federal enforcement rather than the patchwork of state actions, which, he