FCC Allows Bells to Sell Your Telephone Usage Data

Devistater writes "Spotted on hardocp. The FCC said in a ruling yesterday that telephone companies can sell your name, who you call, and for how long you talk to anyone who is an "affiliate." No longer is this required to be an opt in marketing approach, now its OPT OUT. Sounds like spam is coming to the telephone world, and what an egregious breach of privacy. Article on PCWorld has some of the details." There's also a short Reuters story and a good one on ecommercetimes.com.

Comments

The end of 1-900-HOT-SEXX

[Gorm the DBA]

Hmm...so now the Christian Coalition or the Republican party can buy the phone company's records of who you called and when.

"Hello, this is Pat Robertson, I am calling to tell you that you're a sinner and condemned to burn in hell because you called 1-900-SPANK-ME and talked for 12 hours. Oh, we're also telling your boss, and reporting it to the credit agencies"

Re:The end of 1-900-HOT-SEXX

[govtcheez]

But imagine how great it'll be to flip that around.

"Hello, Pat Robertson? I am calling to tell you that you're a sinner and a hypocrite condemned to burn in hell because you called 1-900-SPANK-ME and talked for 12 hours. Oh, we're also telling your cul^H^H^Hcongregation, and reporting it to the IRS"

Man, that would be sweet.

So much for court warrants ...

[jc42]

This means that now all any government agency needs to do is set up a dummy corporation that's an "affiliate", and my phone company will give them unlimited access to all the data about me.

Ya gotta admit, it's a neat end run around the laws that restrict government surveillance.

Oh, well, I suppose as a known computer programmer, I'm already on all the lists of suspected terrorists.

Opt out... Completely

[WCMI92]

Here's how I opt out... I don't HAVE a landline. I have a cell phone, and a broadband connections (cable). That's it.

Until cell phones become 24/7 unlimited flat rate, I don't see the FCC being able to get away with allowing this there.

Cell Phones?

[ScannerBoy]

Does anyone know if this includes cell phone providers?

I mean seriously, I'm paying about the same price for a completly mobile phone, that includes long distance calls, works damn near anywhere in the US (Sprint PCS) and NO sales calls! Use your dollars to tell the phone companies to screw off!

Ways to defeat automated calling systems

[rbabb]

I found out that a good way to defeat the computers that do automatic dialing is to place the tone for a wrong/disconnected number at the beginning of your answering machine message, followed by a second or 2 of silence, and then your real message. Then set the number of rings to like 1 or 2. This way the machine hears the tones for a wrong number and immediately hangs up, whereas everyone else is slow compared to a computer and will hear your message just as they are thinking they might have a wrong number. It might be a little confusing for some people at first, but after you explain it to a few people everyone should understand what you're trying to do.

Just always remember that it's better to use their own system against them, then to just sit there and take it up the a$$.

Rob

bankruptcy?

[sckeener]

I hate the ending of the article:

As a related matter, the FCC is currently seeking industry comment on the use of information about customers whose telecommunications carriers have gone out of business or have filed for bankruptcy protection.

If it follows rulings similar to dot.coms, then those records are assets and will be sold to the highest bidder to pay debts. Ouch!

Corporate personhood

[MemeRot]

There really is no problem with treating corporations like people. Let them have full legal rights like people. BUT also give them a limited lifespan, like people. A couple hundred years ago, corporations were typically chartered for a limited time only, to prevent exactly the kinds of problems we have now. The Dutch East India company was chartered to further a specific social goal, and then dissolved. Corporate personhood only becomes dangerous when combined with IMMORTALITY. Think about it, a person making umpteen billion dollars a year (cough, cough, Bill Gates) has a lot of power - but now imagine an IMMORTAL Bill Gates - well that's what we have with corporations. We'll never be able to re-institute limited lifespans being built into corporate charters. But we might be able to get corporate charters dissolved when the corporations are shown to have violated the law. I think the climate now is right for such a move, though there's nobody in government to sponsor such an idea.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

We need to rein in our "public servants"

[CascaLonginus101]

And I know a good way to start--hang 'em, hang 'em high. When we make an example of a few by hanging them in the street, and throw rotten fruit at their dangling corpses, the rest of them will straighten up real soon.

I am serious. But let's do it legally; we can start with a constitutional amendment allowing petition based public-initiated referendums in all states. That would allow us to generate and hopefully pass laws and vote on them at the polls. Then, we pass a law that allows us to take confidence votes on elected and appointed officials. There could several options for a poor vote of confidence: for example, if the official (e.g., the President) receives a confidence vote of less than 40%--fire him; if less than 30%, imprison him 1 year; These people are our servants; let's start acting like it. This sort of control by the people has a long and distinguished history. You ever hear of the phrase, "Let them eat cake"?

We can also start by taking control of our airwaves, and setting aside a significant portion of time to free political speech, some of which may be randomly donated by lottery.

That is all....

------------

Cryonics: Gateway to the Future?

http://www.cryonet.org

Prepaid service

[ubeans]

If you really care about your privacy, switch to
a prepaid wireless phone. Of course its usage is
more expensive than a traditional land line phone,
but you never have to tell your name or address.

Also, since in the U.S. an invidual under 18 cannot
be legally bound to a contract, the prepaid service
is the only one available for teenagers, short of
having their parents sign up for a postpaid service
on their behalf.

FCC is only following the court's decision

[MagPulse]

The FCC fought hard against US West to keep them from giving out CPNI (individually identifiable call information). It first issued an order saying CPNI is the consumer's property, and should not be given away without consent.

US West then appealed to the 10th circuit court of appeals, where it overturned the FCC's order. The reason? The FCC didn't consider US West's right to "corporate speech".

US West argues the first amendment on two points. First, that it prevents it from speaking to its own customers:

US West contends the CPNI Order "violates the First Amendment by requiring that carriers secure prior affirmative consents from customers before using individually-identifiable customer information to speak with their customers on an individualized basis about services beyond the 'categories' of telecommunications services to which they currently subscribe." US West's Opening Brief at 22. In other words, US West suggests the CPNI Order unduly limits its ability to engage in commercial speech with its existing customers regarding new products and services it may offer.

and then more seriously, from the ability to "share and use CPNI internally". I'm pretty sure sharing here means with other companies...

US West also claims the CPNI Order "restricts the ability of carriers to share and use CPNI internally to have different divisions, affiliates, and personnel within the same carrier communicate information to each other (i.e., to speak to each other), absent a prior affirmative consent from the customer."

since a few paragraphs up, it is mentioned in an example clarifying the Telcom Act of 1996:

For example, petitioner could use CPNI obtained through the provision of local service to market other local service products, but not cellular services. Moreover, if the customer subscribes to both local and long-distance services, petitioner could use the CPNI to market either service and could exchange the CPNI between affiliates that provide such services, but petitioner could still not use the CPNI to market cellular services.

And the court agrees:

We vacate the FCC's CPNI Order, concluding that the FCC failed to adequately consider the constitutional ramifications of the regulations interpreting 222 and that the regulations violate the First Amendment.

It's not about spam calls, it's about your future

[Reziac]

The people who are whining about how this will increase junk phone calls just don't get it. WHO you call can impact your life a helluva lot worse than that.

Let's say you call the local AIDS hotline to ask 'em a few questions. You become interested in the topic and call back several times.

Fast-forward a few months or years...

Your health insurance company buys a phonecall database. Lo and behold, there's your calls to the local AIDS hotline. Your health insurance company cancels your coverage (and blacklists you so you can't get health insurance anywhere) because it's obvious to them that you must have AIDS (why else would you call an AIDS hotline?) therefore you are a bad insurance risk.

Or...

Let's say you're an MD. You occasionally call a friend who works as a receptionist at the local abortion clinic, just to chat.

Months later...

A radical anti-abortion group buys a 3rdhand phonecall database. Egads, here's a doctor who dares to be in contact with an abortion clinic! Shortly thereafter, you are shot and killed as you leave your home to drive to work.

Move to Canada

[Anonymous Coward]

Do not like companies taking your private information and using/giving it to whomever they like? Move to Canada where we pass laws against things like that.

PIPEDA

A few things Canadians are protected from

• Phone companies(or any corporation as of Jan 1 2004) are not be able to give any information, let alone on who you call, to affililiates with out your explicit and informed consent.
• They are restricted from utilizing your information (beyond that which you would find on a business card) for any purpose internally for which they do not have express written consent from you.
• If they provide information to a third party then they are legally liable (criminal and unspecified civil damages) if that company misuses your information.
• You may request at any time, and they have 30 days, to provide you with all of the information that they have about you.
• If the reason they have your information every ends (ie you leave them as a cusomter) they must destroy or anonymize that information.
• To prevent a company wiggling out of this by claiming you have to give up said information rights to get said service, well that is explicitly prohibited.

Companies who do not comply with PIPEDA face stiff criminal and civil consequences, and the privacy commisioner, at his discretion, may publish any and all information about a companies internal privacy policies. This last part is in fact designed to embarass a company publicly, something corporations definitely do not want.

Bascially to fail to live up to your obligations under the legislation you will be charged, humiliates and potentially loose a ton of money

Case in point, already a bank had to pay $1000 to a woman because they mistakenly printed the word "bankrupt" in her address field on her bank statement. Imagine if they had done that to 10,000 customers by mistake? Also keep in mind that was a mistake, imagine what will happen if they do something on purpose?

So if you are concerned about your privacy you can do one of two things.

1. Move to Canada
2. Lobby your government to take the power over your information out of the hands of greedy self-serving corporations and put it where it belongs, in your hands