Dealers Beware: The FTC Is Still Enforcing the Safeguards Rule
June 19, 2025
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reiterated its commitment to enforcing the Safeguards Rule, which requires dealerships and other financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program. As of June 16, 2025, the FTC has issued updated guidance (see the FAQ here) to remind organizations that compliance is not optional.
A key focus in this recent update is data retention and secure disposal. Retaining customer data for longer than necessary creates a significant risk. Every record you store, whether digitally or physically, is a potential breach waiting to happen if not properly protected or deleted once it is no longer required by law.
Failure to dispose of outdated or unnecessary customer data can expose your dealership to regulatory action, reputational harm, and costly remediation efforts.
The FTC Is Still Here—and Still Enforcing.
Don’t let regulatory fatigue lull you into complacency. The FTC continues to monitor dealerships for compliance with the Safeguards Rule, and recent enforcement actions make clear that ignoring these obligations carries real consequences.
Be sure to review your information disposal policy to ensure it clearly identifies:
- When customer data should be deleted from digital systems
- When hard copy customer information should be securely destroyed
Doing so not only aligns with legal requirements—it protects your customers, your reputation, and your bottom line.
We are here to help! Contact [email protected] or call (844) 637-5511 if you would like assistance with your information security program.
Matt Vatter
Chief Compliance Officer, Accelerate2Compliance
Why A2C?
Compliance is an incredibly complicated topic, but our solution is the opposite of complicated: it’s just simple. We take the complexities of information security compliance and simplify them, so you can know what you need to do, do it efficiently, then get back to doing what you do best. You’ll get everything you need from us, and that’s all – you will not be paying for extras you DON’T need. We know what we’re doing. As you begin your information security compliance journey with A2C, you can rest assured you’ll be headed down the road to compliance.
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