美国国家公共电台 NPR Equifax Breach Puts Credit Bureaus' Oversight In Question

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A hundred and forty-three million. That is the number of Americans whose personal information may have been exposed in the recent data breach¹ at Equifax. This led to a lawsuit² against the company by the state of Massachusetts, an investigation³ by the Federal Trade Commission, also the promise of congressional hearings. It has also shown just how much clout⁴ the big three credit-reporting companies have in Washington. Here's NPR's Brian Naylor.

BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE⁵: The credit-reporting companies have to comply with rules set by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They regulate how the companies can sell your financial data to other companies. But protecting that data is a kind of regulatory black hole. There is very little oversight⁶, say, compared to banks. Rohit Chopra is a former assistant director of the Financial Protection Bureau.

ROHIT CHOPRA: The meltdown at Equifax should be a wake-up call to the public about the outsized role credit-reporting companies play in our lives even without our consent.

NAYLOR: Chopra, now with the Consumer Federation⁷ of America, says there are no rules protecting consumers' data or that require credit bureaus to immediately notify consumers in the event of a breach. It took Equifax some six weeks to reveal the hack⁸ and left it up to consumers to try to find out if their data had been stolen. Chopra says people have little control over their information.

CHOPRA: Credit bureaus make most of their money selling your information to financial companies, and in some ways you're not the customer, you're the product.

NAYLOR: And Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group says when it comes to choosing a credit bureau, consumers have no choice.

ED MIERZWINSKI: If you don't like AT&T or Verizon, you can go to T-Mobile to take your business elsewhere. You vote with your feet. You cannot vote with your feet with the credit bureau. You're stuck with them.

NAYLOR: Mierzwinski says the three credit bureaus have fought attempts to make them more transparent⁹. The three companies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion spent nearly $3 billion to lobby lawmakers last year, according to figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, he says, House lawmakers were considering legislation the industry favored on September 7th.

MIERZWINSKI: On the day of the Equifax breach announcement, the House was holding a hearing on not one but two bills to weaken consumer protections over the credit bureaus.

NAYLOR: One of the measures would cap the amount of damages that consumers could be awarded in a lawsuit against the companies. Its sponsor, Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk, defended the bill at that hearing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BARRY LOUDERMILK: It's also been presented that this is a credit bureau protection act, and this is false. This is to protect consumers and all Americans.

NAYLOR: Since the breach was revealed, Loudermilk issued a statement decrying¹⁰, quote, "unfounded attacks" on him and saying his committee has not scheduled further action on the measure. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

1 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

9 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

10 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网