Windsor West's MP is again demanding the federal government modernize its privacy and consumer protection laws after the Equifax settled with the U.S. government.
The credit reporting service was fined $175-million by the Federal Trade Commission this week after hackers accessed the social security numbers and other personal information of 147-million Americans in 2017. The company did not report the breach for a month and a half.
"This is just another example of more significant enforcement actions by U.S. regulators which highlights the deficiencies and shortcomings of our out-dated and inadequate regulations and laws," said Brian Masse.
Equifax will also create a fund of up to $425-million to compensate affected customers. Those consumers will also be eligible for free credit monitoring for up to ten years.
By comparison, 19,000 victims in Canada will receive nothing for the breach, there was no fine, and Equifax only had to sign a compliance agreement with the federal Privacy Commissioner.
(© Can Stock Photo Inc. / agencyby)
Masse pointed to a second example involving Facebook, which agreed to pay a $5-billion fine to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission this week.
In April, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner announced it was going to court to impose actions on Facebook since it lacked the power to levy a fine or enforce compliance.
Facebook was fined for inadvertently exposing the personal information of 87-million users to Cambridge Analytica, which used the data to help the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom and the Trump presidential election campaign in 2016.
The fine is the steepest ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission against a tech firm.
"What is a stark contrast is that the U.S. is considering even more stringent regulations and oversight, while the Liberals have done nothing in four years," stated Masse.
Masse has announced his candidacy to run for the New Democrats again in Windsor West in October's federal election.
Henry Lau is running for the Conservatives in that riding, and Darryl Burrell has declared for the People's Party of Canada. The Liberals and the Green Party have yet to nominate a candidate.