Industry Association Lauds Georgia Law Requiring Shredding

PHOENIX, AZ – The National Association for Information Destruction, Inc. is commending Georgia Governor Roy Barnes for signing into law new legislation (SB475) which makes it a crime for a business to discard personal information unless it first “shreds, erases, modifies” and makes “reasonably” sure no one will have access to it before it is destroyed.  The association, which is the non-profit trade organization of the shredding industry, says the new law is big step in the right direction with consumer’s interests as it’s primary concern.

In earlier statements on the matter, Governor Barnes said, “Records that contain personal information must not be discarded unless the personal information is physically, electronically or otherwise destroyed or made unusable.   People need to be able to trust that their personal information is secure - and businesses need to be liable if one of their customers becomes a victim of identity theft because of poor business practices.”

According to Robert Johnson, NAID’s executive director, “There have been regulations and laws on the books for decades, requiring that this information be kept confidential. Georgia’s SB 475 differs in that it actually specifies that the information must be destroyed.  It also differs, in that there are stiff penalties for businesses that do not shred,” he added.

Effective July 1, 2002, any company in Georgia proven to have discarded personal information without first destroying it, faces up to $10,000 in fines.

The bill primarily strengthens and broadens the penalties for identity theft and related crimes.  In recent years, identity theft and credit card fraud have skyrocketed to become the fastest-growing and most common form of financial crime in the country.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans are victimized by this form of fraud every year with a cost of billions to the economy.  It can take victims up to 2 years and thousands of dollars to repair the damage to their credit.  The new law requires the shredding of discarded private information because it is one of the most significant sources of the personal data used to establish the false identities and fraudulent credit.

In the last decade, shredding services have become the most commonly used method for business and government to destroy sensitive records.  Johnson estimates that there are over 500 such firms and claims that the cost-savings and convenience of shredding services are the reasons for their overwhelming popularity.  NAID currently boasts approximately 250 member companies across the country.

As to the impact on businesses and the affect on shredding services, there is a precedent.  Wisconsin passed similar legislation in 1999.  In the time since, businesses have gradually started to comply with the law and shredding services have prospered.  And, most importantly, incidents of identity theft and credit card fraud have decreased as well.

For more information, contact:

Robert J. Johnson

Executive Director

National Assn. For Information Destruction, Inc.

3420 East Shea Boulevard, Suite 120

Phoenix, AZ 85028

Phone: (602) 788-6243

Facsimile: (602) 788-4144

Email: exedir@naidonline.org

Website: www.naidonline.org

Or Visit These Websites of Interest:

http://www.ganet.org/governor/2002_Initiatives/gfla.html

http://www.state.ga.us/services/newleg