We understand consumers and society are demanding a more robust set of laws and regulations on how their information is used, by whom and when. We believe regulation will give consumers additional protections, remove risk from the industry model and ensure all competitors are playing on the same, level field.

Here are ChoicePoint’s positions on future regulation of our industry:

Accountability
We support independent oversight and increased accountability for all entities – including the public sector, academia and other private sector organizations – that handle sensitive personal data, including public record data. Identity theft is not a crime that contains itself to a particular industry and, as such, we believe laws and regulations should not be limited to companies like ChoicePoint.

ChoicePoint supports increased resources for law enforcement efforts to combat identity theft business fraud as well as stronger penalties for the theft of personally identifiable data.

Consumer notification laws
We are mindful of the concern federal and state regulators and legislators have regarding the protection of consumer information. In fact, we testified before the Congress of the United States and the California state senate and we believe for consumer notification to be effective, there needs to be a nationwide standard. That is why we support a preemptive, nationwide notification law.

Identity theft is a crime that does not stay inside state borders. We believe consumers’ interests are best protected by one uniform policy.

Fair Credit Reporting Act
We support expanding the principles of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to public record data uses. That means providing a right of access and a right to question the accuracy of public filing information used to make decisions about people. There are technical and logistical issues to be solved, but they are solvable.

Access to your personal information

ChoicePoint supports providing consumers with the right to access and question the accuracy of public record information used to make decisions about them.

ChoicePoint provides consumers with access to their public records data through our ChoiceTrust Web site. Consumers can visit this Web site and order a free report of a public records search report about themselves, as well as copies of their free reports available under the FACT Act. Consumers also have an opportunity to correct any mistakes.

Identity theft help

We learned that there are few places for consumers to turn for help if their identity is stolen. This alone increases the fear and anxiety associated with identity theft. For this reason, we have recently formed a partnership with the Identity Theft Resource Center - a leading and well-respected non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to assisting identity theft victims.