The Senate Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday on the need for companies like Apple to develop “an integrated, integrated system” for keeping their data safe online.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking member of the committee, is leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are pushing the tech companies to create such a system.
Apple has been the subject of multiple security breaches that have caused billions of dollars in damage to its products.
In September, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company had taken steps to make its systems more secure, including deploying “code that is much more complex than what the average user is familiar with” and working with the government to help it develop an “integrated, integrated security solution” for its products and customers.
Apple says it is working with lawmakers to make the system “more effective and more accessible to consumers.”
Apple has not yet released details about how its new security system will work.
But Leahy said the company “is already working to make sure that its data and privacy is protected” in a letter to Apple CEO Cook earlier this month.
Apple’s move comes as lawmakers are pressing the tech industry to do more to protect their own personal data.
In October, the House Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved legislation that would require tech companies with 1 million or more employees to give consumers “privacy notices” before providing their data to third parties.
The legislation was opposed by tech companies, who said it would create unnecessary paperwork and increase costs.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Leahy has been pushing tech companies for years to make their products more secure.
He recently introduced legislation to make it easier for consumers to access information from their personal information when they sign up for a service like Facebook or Google+.
The Hill will be live-blogging the hearing, and updates will be posted here as they come in.