The House Energy & Commerce Committee Consumer Protection Subcommittee will hold a hearing on data privacy and security, a hot-button issue in Washington these days, and its Democratic chair signaled it will include looking at the "problem after problem" involving Facebook.
The hearing, which was announced by subcommittee chair Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and parent committee chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), will be Feb. 26 and it is clear where Democrats are on the issue by the majority's announcement email, calling it a hearing on "the need for comprehensive data privacy and security legislation."
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In a YouTube video on the hearing, Schakowsky said while she knew her audience "loved their devices" she was also sure they wondered what the data companies "are beginning to sweep up" about them. She also talked about breaches and "problem after problem" involving Facebook.
She said the hearing was the beginning of a conversation that would end in legislation, adding that self-regulation "just isn't working."
