FCC Needs to Clamp Down on Sale of Data to Bounty Hunters, Starks Says
The FCC has been too slow to address complaints AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are selling customers' real-time location data to bounty hunters (see 1901080046), Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Tuesday. Starks cited the dangers of the practice during a February news…
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conference shortly after he took office (see 1902080056) and called for action in an opinion article in Tuesday's The New York Times. “Our location information isn’t supposed to be used without our knowledge and consent and no chain of handoffs or contracts can eliminate the wireless company’s obligations,” Starks wrote. “This is particularly true for the misuse and disclosure of GPS-based 911 location data -- which is squarely against FCC rules.” The FCC says it's investigating, he said: “But nearly a year after the news first broke, the commission has yet to issue an enforcement action or fine those responsible.” The FCC didn't comment.