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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

Kansas AG fines companies for unlawful data disposal

State Issues State Attorney General Enforcement Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Consumer Protection Kansas

State Issues

On November 1, the Kansas attorney general ordered three national companies that manage business documents to pay fines totaling nearly $500,000 for the alleged unlawful disposal of records containing consumers’ personal information. According to the Kansas AG, the companies violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and the Wayne Owen Act by repeatedly disposing of records in unsecured trash receptacles without “rendering the personal information unreadable or undecipherable.” By engaging in these actions, the AG stated, the companies failed to comply with the requirements that companies implement and maintain reasonable policies and procedures and exercise reasonable care to protect personal information from unauthorized access and use, and take reasonable steps to destroy records containing personal information when they are no longer needed. Under the terms of the consent judgments (see here, here, and here), the companies must pay the fine, implement measures to ensure the proper disposal of documents, conduct employee training on the proper handling and disposal of personal information, and evaluate their information security programs and policies to ensure personal information is protected.