PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island lawmakers concerned about last year’s Equifax breach have passed legislation to help consumers trying to protect their personal data.
The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would make it illegal for a reporting agency to charge consumers for credit freeze requests. The House has passed an identical bill. Current law allows agencies to charge up to $10.
Credit freezes prohibit a reporting agency from giving credit information to another creditor. They are used to stop thieves from opening new bank accounts.
Democratic Attorney General Peter Kilmartin introduced the measure. The Equifax hack involved the personal information of nearly 150 million Americans.
Equifax, one of three main credit reporting companies, initially charged customers for freezes after the breach.
Kilmartin says personal information belongs to individuals, not reporting agencies.
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