Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER ANNA M. GOMEZ

Re: 	Data Breach Reporting Requirements, WC Docket No. 22-21, Report and Order (December 13, 2023).

Nearly a decade ago, a unanimous Supreme Court noted that “[m]odern cell phones are not just another technological convenience.  With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans ‘the privacies of life.’” Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373, 403 (2014).
  Since 2014, the importance of mobile phones in our daily lives has only increased, and the data at risk has only become more sensitive.  The sheer breadth and depth of information collected and stored by these devices underscore the increasing privacy and sensitivity of our digital footprints.  As consumers rely more heavily on cell phones for daily activities, consumers expect that telecommunications providers will safeguard this sensitive data and their networks. 
It is more than timely that we take a look at the Commission’s existing data breach notification rules, and modernize them, where appropriate, aligning with the evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats.  At the same time, we must be sure that in updating our rules and protecting consumers, we are striking the right balance of cost and benefit to implementing additional obligations on providers.  We must be sure that our updates are intentional, and most importantly, that they benefit consumers.  
To that extent, I am grateful to the stakeholders who have come in on this item and the discussions we’ve had on modernizing the data breach rules.  We’ve made progress to ensure that these updates strike that balance between protecting consumers and refraining from imposing unnecessary burdens on providers.  I thank the Chairwoman for taking my suggestions to reduce burdens on providers, while also maintaining strong safeguards to protect consumers.  To the Wireline Competition Bureau, and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, thank you for your tireless work on this item.  

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