Obama proposal: Hacked companies have 30 days to fess up

In the days ahead, President Obama plans plans to focus on privacy in the digital age.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

One proposed law would give a company 30 days to let you know if your personal information -- such as your address or Social Security number -- has been exposed by hackers or careless employees.

The Personal Data Notification & Protection Act is an attempt at a nationwide, uniform rule. Right now, there are 47 different state laws that govern data breaches. Depending on the situation, people in some states get notified, while others are left in the dark. It's a mess.

Data breaches are increasingly common. Last year, hackers broke into Home Depot, Albertson's and so many others that CNNMoney developed its own tool: What hackers know about you.

The president's other proposed law, the Student Digital Privacy Act, is meant to stop the sale of sensitive student data for non-education purposes. Now that students routinely use laptops, tablets and computer programs at school, lots of that data is being collected -- and sometimes sold to advertisers and financial companies.

The fear? That information might be used by money lenders to prey on students -- or by colleges or future employers to judge students unfairly.

"Parents have a legitimate concern about those kinds of practices," Obama said at a midday speech Monday before the Federal Trade Commission. "Our children are growing up in cyberspace."

The president also endorsed the "student privacy pledge" already signed by 75 firms including Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30). It's a promise by companies to only use student data collected at school for education purposes, not observe behavior to target advertisements and not keep data for long.

Obama said any companies that provide school services and don't sign the pledge will be singled out and censured.

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Obama proposal: Hacked companies have 30 days to fess up

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