WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Wednesday urged Congress to toughen laws protecting telephone subscriber records in the wake of the discovery of several online data brokers.
He urged Congress to specifically make it illegal to commercially sell phone records, boost penalties the FCC can impose on violators and allow the agency to require carriers to get customer permission before data can be used for marketing.
“The disclosure of consumers’ private calling records is a significant privacy invasion,” Martin told the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which held a hearing on the practice.
The FCC, state attorneys general, lawmakers, and the Federal Trade Commission are all investigating the practice of companies that offer to obtain and sell telephone subscriber information.