The main point of my testimony today is to make clear the extraordinary urgency of addressing the unregulated sale of personal information in the United States and how the data broker industry is contributing to the growing risk of identity theft in the United States. Whatever your views may be on the best general approach to privacy protection, Choicepoint has made clear the need to regulate the information broker industry.

The Significance of the Choicepoint Matter

With all the news reporting of the last several weeks, it has often been difficult to tell exactly how a criminal ring engaged in identity theft obtained the records of at least 145,000 Americans. According to some reports, there was a computer “break-in. “Others described it as “theft.” In fact, Choicepoint simply sold the information. This is Choicepoint’s business and it is the business of other companies that are based primarily on the collection and sale of detailed information on American consumers. In this most recent case, the consequences of the sale were severe.

From [www.epic.org] via [www.schneier.com] ; my italics.