MarketWatch: Congress to flog Equifax more with words than legislation

Statements from members of Congress suggest Equifax will soon be dealing with a public flogging in Washington in addition to its falling share price and outraged consumers, following the data breach that potentially affected millions of customers.

At least one member of Congress, Rep. Ted Lieu of California, is demanding an investigation into the breach, and others including a top House Republican say the intrusion disclosed late Thursday can't be ignored.

But while numerous committees will likely probe the incident, says analyst Isaac Boltansky of Compass Point Research & Trading, the most Congress is likely to produce is targeted legislation aimed at enhancing consumer protections.

Lieu, a Democrat, asked for a House Judiciary Committee probe into the matter, as well as testimony from Equifax EFX, -13.29% and other credit-reporting companies about "proactive, defensive steps to prevent such breaches in the future." He also questioned the timing of stock sales by Equifax executives.

The breach may impact 143 million U.S. customers, which is nearly two-thirds of the adult U.S. population.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who co-founded the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, said late Thursday the breach was "profoundly troubling."

Warner said it raised questions about whether Congress should create a uniform data breach notification standard — and added lawmakers may need to "rethink data protection policies, so that enterprises such as Equifax have fewer incentives to collect large, centralized sets of highly sensitive data like [Social Security numbers] and credit card information on millions of Americans."

Boltansky said lawmakers and regulators will likely consider steps including notification requirements.

"The most we could see passing is targeted legislation aimed at enhancing consumer protections following identity theft," he wrote in a note. "Beyond Congress, we expect regulatory reviews at both the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] and [Federal Trade Commission], state-level inquiries and fines from coast to coast, and a seemingly endless stream of legal claims."

Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen's vice president of legislative affairs, said hearings were likely from Congress and said lawmakers should "view this latest affront as a clarion call to assist beleaguered consumers."

News of the data breach arrived as Congress is already grappling with a full load of issues. Lawmakers have staved off the threat of a government shutdown and default until Dec. 8, but are expected to soon consider another tranche of aid for hurricane relief as well as reforms to the Obama-era immigration program known as DACA.

In 2016, the Equifax Inc. political action committee gave 85% of its contributions to Republicans and 15% to Democrats, according to Open Secrets.