July 22, 2019

Wyden Statement on Equifax Settlement

Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement regarding the federal government’s settlement with Equifax in response to the firm’s 2017 data breach:

“Equifax leaders knew its security was pitifully weak and yet did nothing to correct it, according to the FTC. In a just world, these executives would be going to jail. No one should be able to collect deeply sensitive information on 200 million people without their consent, treat it with reckless disregard and then just pay a fine when a predictable, easily avoidable hack takes place,” Wyden said.

“Unlike the breaches at Target and Home Depot, consumers cannot vote with their wallets. The consumer credit agencies exist and play a role in consumers’ financial lives no matter how much they are disliked and no matter how shady their practices or how awful their cybersecurity. Market forces can’t incentivize good behavior here, and this FTC order won’t be enough either.”

Wyden has proposed legislation to set strong protections for Americans’ private information and to hold corporations – and CEOs – accountable for violating Americans’ privacy or lying to the government about privacy protections.

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