Identity Theft Liability and Compensation

The issues pertaining to identity theft liability and compensation are something that varies from one country to the next. Fortunately, for those believing that they are victims to identity theft, there are now different legislations in most countries that can help them to seek remuneration.

Some of these legislative avenues of recompense come in the form of criminal law statutes while others are manifest through various aspects of privacy and freedom of information laws. Inconsistencies in these legislations, from one country or region to the next create the “unlevel playing field”.

Legislation

A number of recent identity related legislative changes in most countries do help to one extent or another. The difficulties lie in the variation and diversities of these legislations. On top of this, there are some very surprising aspects the implications of which we are yet to learn the full extent.

New laws tend not to reveal their full extent and granular implications immediately upon enactment. As to whether these new privacy and identity theft laws have any real “teeth”, well I guess in part we will just have to wait and see.

Legislative Inconsistencies

Not only do inconsistencies in privacy legislation and criminal law differ between countries they may also differ between various regions (state) within a country. The resultant confusion, particularly at the individual level, has proven to be very profitably exploitable by identity thieves.

In Australia we have numerous, often different and not always complimentary legislation at both the state and federal levels. The Australian Federal government has enacted privacy legislation (The Privacy Act) pertinent to privacy matters and personally identifiable information (PII) from their perspective. Some Australian states are yet to follow suit.

I am sure that those in the US will readily identify with this state of affairs since the same situation exists there. European countries (EU members in particular) also face regional anomalies in privacy legislation. The EU may have a set of overall regulations but some member countries have enacted extensions to these laws.

I will therefore address this issue from a general perspective while highlighting certain aspects of which general public awareness appears to be lacking. As always, when it comes to the law, the first issues that need addressing are interpretation of law and loopholes. Let us begin with issues related to loopholes.

Loopholes – After the Fact

Often those formulating the legislation find that their original intent and purpose applied or empowered through the courts in manners they could not possibly have foreseen. “Loop Holes” only become apparent and exploitable after the fact.