Chicago — Daniel Biss introduced legislation today in the Illinois Senate to help consumers protect their credit ratings when companies mishandle their private data. Litesa Wallace will join with colleagues in the House to sponsor similar legislation.
“Companies like Equifax are mishandling private data and then leaving the victims of their negligence to pay the price,” said Daniel Biss. “We shouldn’t have to pay to secure and access our own financial records, especially when a reckless agency has left us vulnerable to identity theft. That may have been business as usual, but that’s not how business will be done in Illinois anymore.”
Under current Illinois law, credit reporting agencies can charge a $10 fee for imposing or lifting a credit security freeze—even when the agency is at fault for a security breach compromising consumer data. Daniel’s bill will eliminate these fees entirely, empowering consumers to protect their credit ratings and preventing agencies from making a profit from their own failures to protect private data.
“Corporations have built a system that works for them while leaving the rest of us behind,” said Litesa Wallace. “These bills provide an overdue correction for a predatory practice and serve as another example of why Daniel is the right candidate to protect middle class and working families like ours as governor."
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