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Required Training for the FTC Safeguards Rule: An Affordable Option

The Dealer Education Portal was launched to help dealers across the country address some of the new FTC requirements.
 
May 2022, Austin—The Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association (TIADA) launched the Dealer Portal to educate automobile dealers across the country and develop an affordable way to address some of the new requirements found in the FTC amended Safeguards Rule.

 

FTC amended its Safeguards Rule earlier this year, creating new requirements for non-banking financial institutions, including automobile dealerships. The new rules become effective in December 2022 and are much more specific than the old rules.
 
A few key provisions to the updated Safeguards Rule include:

  • Each dealership must identify a “Qualified Individual” who is responsible for the program within the dealership and reports to the dealership's board of directors or management annually,

  • Dealerships will be required to have a written information security program and manual,  

  • And dealerships will be required to have an employee training program.

 
The FTC is ramping up its enforcement efforts this year. According to their website, “The FTC has brought legal actions against organizations that have violated consumers' privacy rights, or misled them by failing to maintain security for sensitive consumer information, or caused substantial consumer injury.”
 
Among other things, the Dealer Education Portal was built to help dealers stay compliant. “Our goal is for this training to be used as a tool for dealers to avoid inadvertent exposure of customer information, government enforcement actions, lawsuits, and bad press,” said TIADA Executive Director Jeff Martin.
 
TIADA is working closely with a number of state and national automobile dealer associations to create an affordable option for their dealer members and help drive revenue for the associations. “We already have dealers from all over the country taking the course. If a dealer from Colorado takes a course through the Portal, we send 50% of that revenue back to Colorado,” said Martin. “Since we already developed the course and have an online platform to deliver it, it just made sense to partner with other associations.” 
 
The Safeguards Compliance Course through the Dealer Education Portal was designed specifically with dealers in mind. There are two courses available, one for the dealership's Qualified Individual and another for all other staff. There is a volume pricing option available for any dealership with ten or more employees who need to take the course.
 
The courses are easy, quick, affordable, and specifically designed for dealers. The program includes model Safeguards Policies and Agreements for dealerships at no additional charge.  
 
The Safeguards Rule applies to most auto dealerships. However, there is an exception based on the number of customers a dealership serves.
 
About TIADA: Since 1944, the Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association has been and continues to be the only statewide organization for independent automobile dealers in Texas. Whether you sell 10 or 10,000 cars a year, we are your voice at the state Capitol in Austin. We are a member-owned, member-governed association that consists of more than 1300 of the best used car dealers in Texas that believe in creating a better image for the industry while protecting our rights as business owners. We are led by a number of dedicated volunteers from across the state and a professional, experienced staff committed to offering valuable programs and services to the independent automobile dealer.
 
For more information, contact: Stephen Pallas, TIADA Director of Marketing and Communications, Stephen.pallas@txiada.org

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