The Texas Information Disposal Act (IDA)
What is IDA?
The Texas Information Disposal Act (IDA) protects Texas residents from misuse of their personal information. The Act amends the Texas Business and Commerce Code, adding document retention and disposal requirements, and outlining how business records are to be disposed of or destroyed. Under section 698(3)(e) of the IDA, compliance can be achieved by contracting with a person or organization engaged in the business of disposing of records.
IDA also outlines the penalties that may be levied against organizations found to be non-compliant with document disposal requirements.
Who is affected by IDA?
The Act applies to all businesses operating in Texas that collect personal identifying information, either from employees or consumers. The Act is intended to ensure the secure destruction of business documents containing information that could be used to commit identity theft, including:
- Social security numbers and other government-issued identification numbers
- Bank account numbers
- Birthdates
- E-Mail addresses
According to the Act, when a business intends to dispose of business records containing personal identifying information, it must “mollify, by shredding, erasing or other means, the personal identifying information to make it unreadable or undecipherable.”
A business that does not comply with the Act is liable for civil penalties for each record that is not appropriately disposed of. The Texas Attorney General is also empowered to bring action against the business to obtain injunctive relief, legal costs, and other damages.
Your Partner in Regulatory Compliance
By purging outdated files or placing one of our locked security consoles in your office, PROSHRED® can assist your company in maintaining a document destruction program that meets IDA regulations. Using state-of-the-art technology, our highly trained and certified security professionals efficiently shred all documents right on your premises. We give you the option to watch the shredding process, and also provide you with a Certificate of Destruction that records each shred. Trust PROSHRED® as your partner in compliance for maintaining your document security program.
For more information on the Texas Information Disposal Act, please visit: Texas Legislature Online
For information about our Texas shredding services, contact our local offices in Dallas & Houston.