Attorney General George Jepsen today announced the creation of a Privacy Task Force to help educate the public about data protection requirements and to focus his Office’s response to Internet privacy concerns and data breaches that affect consumers.
“The need for this initiative is well demonstrated,” Jepsen said at a news conference at the Legislative Office Building. “Internet and data privacy have been among the biggest issues affecting the broad public interest during my first eight months in office.”
Nearly a dozen other investigations have been initiated or pursued regarding security breaches that resulted in the loss of medical and insurance records or personal customer information. Others involve the unauthorized collection of personally identifiable information.
“While many of them are ongoing and cannot be discussed publicly at this time, my office has engaged the giants of the industry, such as Google and Facebook, with some success to help protect the personal information of their users,” Jepsen said.
The Task Force will be responsible for all Office investigations of consumer privacy breaches. It will also help to educate the public and business community about their responsibilities, which include protecting personally sensitive data and promptly notifying affected individuals when breaches do occur.
“My office can, and should, serve as a resource for individuals and businesses seeking assistance in protecting their own information and that of their customers in a challenging and evolving technological environment,” Jepsen said.
The Task Force is comprised of four attorneys from Jepsen’s staff, who have interest, experience or expertise in data privacy issues. Their participation on the Task Force will be part of, or in addition to, their assigned responsibilities. They are: Assistant Attorney General Lorrie Adeyemi of the Finance Unit; Assistant Attorney General Stephen Courtney, of the Health Care Fraud and Whistleblower Unit; Executive Policy Advisor and Counsel Michael Martone and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Fitzsimmons of the Consumer Protection Unit, who will lead the Task Force.
Source: Attorney General George Jepsen