The FTC should be applauded for taking any step to help in fight against identity theft. The flood of recent public disclosures by companies admitting to lost records is appalling. But does this new rule really help?

No.

The new regulation provides no provisions on how long records can be held before being destroyed. This effectively neuters regulation. Any claim of violation is going to be refuted by defense of, “We destroy records every xxx months.” Even if you disagree with this assessment, consider destruction of electronic files.

Electronic files are automatically backed up on hard drives. Merely deleting a file does not erase it from a hard drive. To comply with regulations, are companies supposed to wipe all their hard drives every day or is deleting records enough? Wiping drives is incredibly burdensome while deleting files is useless. As you might imagine, FTC provides no guidance on issue.

Cutting to chase, FTC has issued this rule for one reason – to satisfy Congress. It has little practical impact in protecting your private information and leaves companies with another vague regulatory requirement.

Where DNA Evidence Stands Now

The first conviction made using DNA evidence occurred in Portland, Oregon in 1987. Juries seemed hesitant at first to accept DNA evidence as conclusive, perhaps because of complicated process - which has been extensively simplified for this article - that lawyers and specialists had to explain to jurors. The process in its infancy left much room for defense attorneys to insert doubt into cases against their clients. However, as science continued to develop, DNA evidence and technology gained a foothold in United States' courts.

DNA evidence and associated technologies were thrust into limelight when a man by name of O.J. Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife and her associate in 1995. DNA evidence also played a large role in case of disappearance of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

Just as DNA evidence has been used to convict people of crimes, innocent people wrongly accused have also been freed based on DNA evidence analyzed after fact. Ten people have been freed from death row in United States when DNA technology was finally made available to analyze their cases.

At time of this writing, several states, prisons, and communities are developing programs to create DNA databases, especially from those considered dangerous felons or high risk criminals. The future of DNA evidence in United States lies in hands of legislatures, courts, and responsible DNA labs.