Technology

OVERNIGHT TECH: Lawmakers push for data security legislation in wake of LinkedIn breach

Bono Mack said she is “still trying to get additional information,” but the incident “once again brings into sharp focus the urgent need for Congress to pass data protection legislation.”

“Nothing threatens e-commerce more than a lack of consumer confidence, and today a lot of people are becoming very antsy about providing their personal information online,” she said in a statement.

{mosads}LinkedIn’s breach is especially high-profile, but it is only the latest in a long line of data breaches. Hackers stole the passwords for users of clothing website Zappos earlier this year, for example.

But there has been little movement on Capitol Hill in recent months on the data security bills, and it is unclear whether Wednesday’s breach will be enough to spur action.

It is possible that the data security standards could be tacked onto broader cybersecurity legislation currently under consideration in the Senate. But disagreements over privacy and government regulations have left the fate of the cybersecurity legislation uncertain as well.

Obama nominates Clyburn for second term: President Obama nominated Mignon Clyburn on Wednesday to serve a second term as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Clyburn is the daughter of Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the third-ranking Democrat in the House. The Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination for her first term in July 2009.

Mignon Clyburn is known as a liberal on the five-member commission and is a vocal advocate for media diversity.

Republicans look to block political ad rule: House appropriators voted Wednesday along party lines to block an FCC regulation that would require television stations to disclose political ad buyers online.

Republicans included a provision to spike the FCC rule in the 2013 Financial Services spending bill that passed out of subcommittee Wednesday. GOP appropriators voted down an attempt from Democrats to remove it from the bill.  

The Financial Services bill heads now to the full House Appropriations panel and then to the floor. It is based on a lower overall budget allocation than a similar bill in the Senate, and will not become law without extensive negotiation.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

McCain and the White House clashed over security leaks

Nasdaq will compensate investors for Facebook’s IPO woes

The Copyright Office is mulling whether to re-new the “jailbreaking” exemption

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