WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hit data broker ChoicePoint with a $15 million penalty Thursday for failing to adequately protect the consumer information in its databases.
The Atlanta-based ChoicePoint agreed to pay a $10 million fine -- the largest in FTC history -- and to establish a $5 million consumer restitution fund.
"The message to ChoicePoint and others should be clear: Consumers' private data must be protected from thieves," said FTC Commissioner Deborah Platt Majoris.
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What's really important here is that ChoicePoint and other companies that handle consumers' private data will do their job right next time. I don't think several million dollar fine is good enough in this case; I sincerely doubt that these companies will fix the problem just because they are ordered to pay fine.
