Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Legislative Issues
Protecting Your Privacy
Lawmakers unveil legislation to keep phone records private
18 January 2006
Lawmakers unveiled legislation aimed at preventing imposters from accessing the phone records of unsuspecting consumers. Their announcement came in response to reports that online companies sell illegally obtained cell phone records for as little as $100.
A bill sponsored by U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would increase criminal penalties for people who pose as account holders to access telephone and cell phone records. They plan to file the legislation as soon as the House is back in session on January 31.
“This protection needs to be included in broad privacy legislation Congress will consider this year,” said Inslee, in reference to pending bills aimed at protecting sensitive consumer data by regulating information brokers, some of which were involved in high-profile security breaches last year. “I’ll work with my colleagues on the House commerce panel to make sure that phone records, along with Social Security numbers, financial records and other sensitive consumer information, are kept private.”
"Private cell phone information should remain private," Blackburn said. "Our cell phone information is being targeted by some less than honorable companies. I'm certain most people have no idea their personal information is being bought and sold like some commodity. The fraudulent acquisition of this information should be banned and I believe we can achieve a consensus on that point. We have an opportunity to tackle this problem when Congress returns and protect Americans' personal cell phone records."
Current law contains criminal penalties for obtaining another person’s financial records under false pretexts, but similar penalties do not exist specifically for telephone records. Under the Inslee-Blackburn bill, these privacy violations would be criminal offenses, punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines for individuals, and up to $500,000 in fines for companies.
U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced similar legislation today in the Senate.