House lawmakers want answers from eBay

A bipartisan duo of House lawmakers has questions for eBay about its recent data breach.

Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) told eBay chief John Donahoe in a Wednesday letter that they share “some concerns regarding the data security practices of personal information at eBay.”

{mosads}The lawmakers, who are both members of the Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, want to know if the company is still gathering details about the full scope of the hack and how users have been affected. They also asked whether or not eBay is looking to overhaul its security standards in light of the hack and if it had noticed a decrease in security breaches in recent years.

Last week, eBay revealed that it had been hit by hackers between February and March. The company advised its 145 million active users to change their passwords to protect their data.

The shopping giant said that the hackers did not have access to any users’ financial data but warned that their names, emails, home addresses and other personal information may have been swiped.

After previous headline-grabbing hacks at Target and other stores, the eBay breach added pressure on lawmakers looking to write new legislation to protect consumers. So far, those efforts have yet to gain traction.

While Congress may not have been swift to move after the eBay hack, at least four states announced they were looking into the company’s operations. Attorneys general from Florida, Connecticut, Illinois and California announced plans for a joint investigation into the company’s business practices.