FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel demands answers from wireless companies on their sale of customers’ phone location data

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is demanding answers from wireless phone companies on their sale of customers’ phone location data to third party data aggregator companies. The companies previously committed to ending such practices. However, Commissioner Rosenworcel is concerned about the companies’ compliance with their promises and the storage of previously shared location data.

“The public still has very little detail about how much geolocation data is being saved and stored—including in ways that may be far too accessible to others,” said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

Rosenworcel's demand comes after 15 US senators urged the FCC and the FTC to “investigate the sale of Americans’ location data by wireless carriers, location aggregators, and other third parties.”

“Americans expect that their location data will be protected,” the senators’ letter read. “The wireless industry has repeatedly demonstrated a blatant disregard for its customers' privacy. It is therefore vital that regulators take swift action to ensure that consumers are protected.”

Links:

Wireless carriers caught red-handed selling customers’ location data (Speed Matters, Jan 17, 2019)

FCC Commissioner Demands Answers from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon on Phone Location Data (Motherboard, May. 1, 2019)

Letter from Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to wireless CEOs (FCC, May. 1, 2019)