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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  DEBORAH  TAYLOR  TATE 
 Re:  Implementation  of  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996;  Petition  for  Rulemaking  to  Enhance  Security  and  Authentication  Standards  for  Access  to  Customer  Proprietary  Network  Information, 
 CC  Docket  No.  96-  115,  RM-  11277 
 The  brokerage  of  personal  information  –  whether  it  be  personal  identity,  financial  records,  or  a  list  of  your  phone  calls  –  is  intolerable.  “Pretexting”  is  nothing  more  than  stealing;  robbing  consumers  in 
 a  variety  of  slick  ways  of  their  most  personal  information. 
 I  support  this  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking  and  Chairman  Martin’s  call  for  swift  action  by  this  Commission  to  see  that  we  are  doing  our  part  to  protect  the  consumers  who  look  to  us  to  ensure  that  the 


 proper  rules  are  in  place  to  keep  their  personal  phone  data  confidential.  State  Attorneys  General  have  been  very  active  pursuing  the  companies  behind  these  criminal  acts,  and  I  commend  them  for  their 
 efforts.  Also,  our  partners  at  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  have  been  actively  investigating  the  practice  of  fraudulently  obtaining  and  selling  personal  data,  including  call  records. 


 While  my  philosophy  leans  towards  market-  based  solutions  with  minimal  government  intervention,  this  issue  provides  a  perfect  example  of  the  appropriateness  of  government  intervention, 
 investigation,  and  enforcement.  Indeed,  national  security  is  of  utmost  importance,  but  so  is  personal  security.  We  must  be  as  vigilant  to  protect  our  personal  digital  borders  as  we  are  our  nation’s  physical 
 borders. 
 The  action  we  take  today  should  send  a  clear  message  to  information  snatchers  –  who  are  attacking  our  citizens  in  the  privacy  of  their  own  homes  –  that  we  take  seriously  our  obligation  to  protect 


 consumers’  most  personal  information. 
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