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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  News  Media  contact:  January  17,  2006  Jessica  Rosenworcel  at  (202)  418-  2000 
 COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS  CALLS  FOR  ACTION  TO  ADDRESS  THEFT  OF  PHONE  RECORDS 
 Reacting  to  reports  that  private  wireless  and  wireline  phone  records,  including  phone  numbers  dialed,  calls  received,  and  even  the  location  of  wireless  callers,  are 
 available  for  sale,  Commissioner  Michael  J.  Copps  stated: 
 “The  reported  abuses  highlight  the  critical  need  to  protect  Americans’  personal  and  private  information.  Few  rights  are  so  fundamental  as  the  right  to  privacy  in  our 
 daily  lives,  yet  few  are  under  such  constant  attack.  Americans  deserve  the  security  of  knowing  that  their  private  phone  records  are  not  for  sale. 


 “I  am  pleased  that  the  FCC  is  launching  an  inquiry.  This  must  be  a  priority  because  every  day  such  a  problem  exists  puts  American  citizens  needlessly  at  risk.  So, 
 we  must  move  swiftly  to  determine  how  and  to  what  extent  data  brokers  are  obtaining  Americans’  private  phone  records.  The  FCC  also  must  determine  if  phone  companies  are 
 doing  enough  to  protect  the  personal  and  private  information  with  which  they  are  entrusted.  We  should  then  act  quickly  ourselves,  and  as  the  government’s 
 telecommunications  expert,  assist  Congress  and  other  Agencies  to  do  so  as  well.  Congress  recognized  that  privacy  is  a  critical  consumer  right  and  enshrined  this  right  in 
 the  law.  These  incidents  further  highlight  the  need  to  act  on  the  petition  filed  by  the  Electronic  Privacy  Information  Center  (EPIC)  on  enhanced  security  standards  for  access 
 to  consumer  records.  The  FCC  must  ensure  that  it  is  doing  everything  it  can  to  prevent  illegal  theft  of  Americans’  phone  records.” 


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