Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a letter to Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) today requesting the Committee hold a hearing to review recent reports regarding the seemingly unauthorized disclosure of real-time location data wireless carriers collect and use in the course of providing cell phone service.
Pallone is concerned that third-party providers, such as Location Smart and Securus, appear to have obtained such location information that was originally collected by wireless carriers and allowed location data to be exposed. The Ranking Member questioned whether this is a violation of the Communications Act of 1996, which requires carriers, and the vendors with whom the information is shared, to safeguard the information and to get users’ consent before disclosing it with anyone else.
“The issues raised by this incident mirrors the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal and similarly must be closely scrutinized," Pallone wrote to Walden. “A hearing on how this information was made available is necessary to better understand whether the privacy protections in the Communications Act were violated and whether Congress needs to take action to ensure users’ data are protected."
