The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) Disposal Rule and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Safeguards Rule

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) Disposal Rule and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Safeguards Rule require organizations to implement reasonable policies and procedures to “protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with its disposal” (FTC, 2012). Organizations that fail to properly dispose of customer information should be subject to heavy fines and penalties from FTC and HHS. Violators should pay between $50 and $100,000 and/or 2 to 5 years imprisonment per violation. The fines should increase with the number of clients, the degree of neglect, and repeat violations. Unknowing and knowing violations should receive the least and maximum penalties, respectively. In addition to these fines, customers who fall victim should file civil suits against the entities. These stringent consequences are justified by the devastating consequences of improper disposal such as data breach, financial loss, and reputation damage (FTC, 2012).

Chapter 13

The party that created the fake profiles can face criminal charges particularly under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. According to the provision of this statute, Internet service providers, including hosting companies, websites, and developers are not liable for defaming comments and content created or posted by users (Spiccia, 2013). In light of the above statement, the party that created a fake profile may be held liable for defamation. Under U.S. defamation law, the plaintiff (pastor) can win the lawsuit if he or she proves that the statements published on the fake profile are untrue, are not privileged, are in the nature of a fact (and not an opinion), are published, damages the pastor’s reputation, and the pastor is a “private individual” (Spiccia, 2013).

References

Federal Trade Commission. (2012). Report to Congress Under Section 319 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. Washington, DC.

Spiccia, P. (2013). The Best Things in Life Are Not Free: Why Immunity Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act Should be Earned and Not Freely Given. Val. UL Rev., 48, 369.