House Energy and Commerce Committee Hold Consumer Privacy Protection Hearings

Lawmakers in Washington have been increasing efforts to create more effective regulatory compliance requirements to combat record numbers of data loss and failed privacy protection. This week, the U.S. Senate will host consumer privacy hearings, The Hill reports.

According to the news provider, various House Energy and Commerce Committee subpanels have been hosting a long series of discussions about consumer privacy protection throughout this month, bringing in speakers and consultants from a variety of industries.

Last week, the source noted, the manufacturing subpanel met with several Silicon Valley-based manufacturers and executives, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. The news provider also explained that while the Senate will establish more online privacy protection policies in the coming months, experts believe any statutes that web-based firms see as potential problems will likely be contended.

The focal point of these hearings, the source affirms, is to improve consumer information security, as data breaches have plagued many industries throughout the past few years.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, 147 breaches have led