Happy Halloween - No Red Flags Enforcement Until June 1, 2010.........

Yet again, at the last minute, the Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is delaying enforcement of the Red Flags Rule. This time, the postponement is until June 1, 2010 and comes "[a]t the request of Congress."

This is the FOURTH time that the FTC has delayed "enforcement" of the controversial rules intended to detect and mitigate identity theft. It follows yesterday's federal court ruling that the Red Flags Rule does not apply to lawyers. It also follows on the heels of a 400-0 vote in favor of a House bill (H.R.3763) exempting certain small businesses from compliance with the Red Flags Rule.

As we have discussed in this blog on many occasions, the Red Flags Rule has been plagued with misunderstanding, controversy, and objections from the business community since its enactment in July of 2006. In the meantime, according to the FTC and other compilations of ID theft reports, nearly 25 million U.S. residents have reportedly been victims of identity theft. The regulatory effort is in danger of losing credibility.



Links:

Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/redflags.shtm
Privacy and Security MATTERS: www.privacyandsecuritymatters.blogspot.com/2009/10/changes-to-red-flag-rules-may-be-coming.html
Identity Theft Statistics: www.privacyrights.org/ar/idtheftsurveys