ROUND TABLE March 2006

… On reports of data brokers selling wireline and wireless phone records to anyone on the Web, and governments subsequent reactions, including the introduction of a Senate bill designed to prosecute people who sell phone records, and the FCCs launch of an investigation into the matter.

The reported abuses highlight the critical need to protect Americans personal and private information. Few rights are so fundamental as the right to privacy in our daily lives, yet few are under such constant attack. Americans deserve the security of knowing that their private phone records are not for sale.
Michael J. Copps, FCC Commissioner

Stealing someones private phone records is absolutely a criminal act and the fact that it cant be prosecuted as one has got to change. … Stealing a persons phone log can lead to serious personal, financial, and safety issues for just about any American.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), sponsor of the bipartisan Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006

T-Mobile supports adoption of federal legislation making it clear that fraudulent activities by third parties to obtain, sell or distribute call records is a crime. Legislation should address the deplorable and deceptive actions of these third-party brokers who illegitimately obtain and sell call records without the knowledge or consent of wireless customers.We applaud the FCCs recent citations against brokers that have defied its subpoenas.
Tom Sugrue, Vice President of Government Affairs, T-Mobile, which is prosecuting online data brokers

[T]he commission must … take immediate steps to ensure that we have strong consumer privacy rules in place and that phone companies are employing effective safeguards to shield this data from harm. The FCCs Enforcement Bureau has launched an investigation into these troublesome data brokering practices, and I support swift action against carriers that have not complied with our existing rules and procedures.
Jonathan S. Adelstein, FCC Commissioner