[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 14, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE ``PRIVACY AND CYBERCRIME ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2007''

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 14, 2007

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the bipartisan 
``Privacy and Cybercrime Enforcement Act of 2007,'' along with 
Representatives Smith, Scott, Forbes, and Sanchez. This bill will 
provide new tools to federal prosecutors to combat identity theft and 
other computer crimes. I am pleased that Representatives Smith, Scott 
and Forbes, who have been valuable partners in combating the growing 
problem of identity theft for many years, have joined me in introducing 
this important criminal bill.
  The Privacy and Cybercrime Enforcement Act takes several important 
steps to protect Americans from the growing and evolving threat of 
identity theft and other cybercrimes. First, to better protect American 
consumers, our bill provides the victims of identity theft with the 
ability to seek restitution in federal court for the loss of time and 
money spent restoring their credit and remedying the harms of identity 
theft, so that identity theft victims can be made whole.
  Second, because identity theft schemes are much more sophisticated in 
today's digital era, our bill also expands the scope of the federal 
identity theft statutes so that the law keeps up with the available 
technology. To address the increasing number of computer hacking crimes 
that involve computers located within the same state, our bill also 
eliminates the jurisdictional requirement that a computer's information 
must be stolen through an interstate or foreign communication in order 
to federally prosecute this crime.
  Lastly, our bill strengthens consumer privacy by requiring companies 
to give rapid notice of breaches to law enforcement. The bill makes it 
a crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison to knowingly fail to 
report breaches to the appropriate authorities. The bill also requires 
agencies to prepare privacy impact assessments for proposed and final 
rules that pertain to the collection, maintenance, use, or disclosure 
of personally identifiable information from 10 or more individuals. 
With limited exceptions, such assessments must be made available to the 
public for comment.
  The Privacy and Cybercrime Enforcement Act is a good, bipartisan 
measure to help combat the growing threat of identity theft and other 
cybercrimes. This balanced bill protects the privacy rights of 
consumers, the interests of business and the legitimate needs of law 
enforcement. Similarly, I hope that the other Committees of 
jurisdiction will take up and report out legislation that will protect 
consumers from ID theft through data security obligations and strong 
requirements that consumers be notified when the security of their 
personal information is compromised. Again, I thank the bipartisan 
coalition of Representatives who have joined me in introducing this 
important legislation.




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