Goode News for March 29
Goode News for March 29
The House of Representatives has gone on record in support of the recent
unanimous decision by the U. S. Supreme Court that all colleges and universities that receive federal financial assistance must allow military recruiters to have the same access to students as all others who recruit employees.
The vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 354 was 347-to-65. I voted for the resolution. Those of us who voted for this legislation believe that it is important for the elected representatives to show their support for equal treatment of military recruiters on college campuses and to emphasize that institutions of higher learning that take federal money have an obligation to treat all prospective employers the same.
On another matter, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting a vigorous investigation of companies that offer consumer telephone records for sale. In testimony before a Senate committee, the FTC said that an entire industry has developed to offer purchasers the cellular and land line phone records of third parties.
The practice of obtaining personal information, such as telephone records, is known as pretexting, and Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the committee that while pretexting is not only against the law, but also it "undermines consumers' confidence in the marketplace and in the security of their sensitive data."
Pretexting is not new, but it has become more prevalent in the last couple of years. Parnes told the committee that the FTC has a history of combating the illegal practice. The first FTC law enforcement action targeting operators who used false pretenses to gather financial information occurred in 1999. The company offered to provide consumers' financial records for a fee. The agency alleged that the company's employees obtained the records from financial institutions by posing as the consumer whose records it was seeking. The Commission charged that the practice was unfair and deceptive and violated the FTC Act.
In 2001, Congress passed legislation specifically outlawing pretexting of customer data from financial institutions and prescribing penalties for those who violate the law. The legislation specifically prohibits pretexting of customer data from financial institutions. Once that law was adopted, the FTC launched Operation Detect Pretext in 2001, which combined a broad monitoring program, the widespread dissemination of industry warning notices, consumer education, and aggressive law enforcement.
Parnes emphasized that the FTC is committed to protecting the privacy of consumers' data, noting that the Commission has been at the forefront of efforts to safeguard consumer information and is committed to continuing its work in this area. She said that "it requires a multi-faceted approach: coordinated law enforcement by government agencies, as well as action by the telephone carriers, outreach to educate consumers and industry, and improved security by record holders are essential for any meaningful response to this assault on consumers' privacy."
http://www.house.gov/goode/20060329.shtml