Democratic Lawmakers Raise Domestic Violence Concerns on Sale of Location Data
Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Gwen Moore, D-Wis., raised concerns, in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, that the private, real-time location information sold by carriers could be used by domestic violence perpetrators to track down victims. “Abusers and…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
stalkers often exploit technology to gain access to their victims’ location through GPS tracking and other cell phone apps, forcing victims to get new phones or wipe their current ones when they are trying to leave these dangerous situations,” they wrote. “We were extremely troubled to read about the ease with which wireless customers’ real-time location data can be acquired. … We urge you to take this matter seriously and to protect real-time location data to the fullest extent allowed under law, because domestic violence victims, victims of sex trafficking, and individuals in sensitive locations are at risk.” In May, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to CEOs of the major carriers asking what they're doing to make sure real-time location information they collect isn’t being sold to data aggregators (see 1905010167). Commissioner Geoffrey Starks has also raised concerns (see 1902080056).