Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) issued the following statement today after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the notice of apparent liability for four carriers who failed to protect consumers’ real-time location data:
“Today’s notice by the FCC confirms what I have said from the beginning - carriers have a duty to protect consumers’ real-time location data and the FCC must enforce the law in order to protect the personal safety of consumers across the country. While I am glad the FCC is finally proposing fines for this egregious behavior, it represents little more than the cost of doing business for these carriers. Further, the Commission is still a long way from collecting these fines and holding the companies fully accountable. I will continue to closely monitor this important issue."
Last January, Chairman Pallone requested an emergency briefing from FCC Chairman Pai to discuss what actions the FCC had taken to protect consumers’ real-time location data and to urge the Commission to take immediate action to stop the disclosure of this sensitive data. Then in November, 11 Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Pai expressing their concerns that the FCC was failing to hold the carriers accountable for the unauthorized disclosures. Last month, Chairman Pai informed the Committee that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau had completed its investigation into the matter.
