Government ID Theft Plan Addresses Problem at the Edges - The government's strategic plan to combat identity theft -- unveiled earlier today by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) -- contains many worthwhile provisions, but falls well short of the comprehensive privacy overhaul that is needed to address the ID-theft threat at its root. Some of the positive aspects of the plan include a call for federal agencies to reduce unnecessary use of social security numbers; an educational campaign aimed at consumers and the private sector; and stiffened criminal penalties for ID-related privacy abuses. But the report lacks any holistic approach to fixing an outdated national privacy framework that is dangerously ill equipped to respond to modern privacy threats. CDT continues to call for the enactment of a national consumer privacy law and for real enforcement of the Federal Privacy Act. April 23, 2007

• FTC-DOJ Release April 23, 2007 [off-site]
• CDT Legislative Agenda: Privacy
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