Consumers Union Backs EPIC Request to Repeal 18-Month Toll-Call Data Retention Rule
Consumers Union supported a request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and others that the FCC open a rulemaking to repeal a requirement that telcos retain toll-call data for 18 months (see 1508040027 and 1704240065). The rule is unnecessary for…
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business purposes, no longer serves necessary law enforcement purposes and makes consumer data vulnerable to breaches, CU said. "Ninety-five percent of Americans own a cellphone of some kind. The high rate of cellphone use means that the Commission requires telephone companies to keep 18 months of call data on at least 95 percent of the population," said the group's filing posted Monday in docket 17-130. "Law enforcement and commercial justifications for this rule have significantly eroded. ... Section 42.6 necessitates that telephone companies keep a vast and detailed history of a consumer’s telephone use even in cases where the consumer is under no suspicion of wrongdoing." The group said "data minimization" is needed to protect against breaches as "the very existence of 18 months of detailed and personal call data" creates a "treasure trove for hackers" that's "vulnerable to attack." The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which joined EPIC's 2015 request, expressed continued support. "We are particularly concerned with data breach risk and the inability for companies to compete for customers based on their privacy practices," said PRC. "The FCC’s existing rule counters the widely accepted best practice of data minimization." In a filing posted Friday, Media Alliance said retention of those records minus any allegations of wrongdoing is a privacy abuse that creates large tracking and targeting risks "and provides a literal gold mine for potential data breaches and cybersecurity intrusions, whose rate is growing exponentially."