WASHINGTON-Privacy advocates and the wireless industry urged the Federal Communications Commission recently to initiate a rulemaking designed to create wireless location privacy rules, while a wireless consumer group and a wireless advertising group urged the FCC to take a different approach.
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association last year asked the FCC to separate wireless location privacy rules from other privacy rules being established for the telecommunications industry in general. The FCC in March sought comment specifically about whether it should proceed with creating wireless location privacy rules.
“There are likely to be some location-based services that will appeal to many consumers, (and) there are likely to be many others that will be perceived as invasive and undesirable. … [The Electronic Privacy Information Center] agrees with CTIA’s suggestion that the [FCC] should commence a separate proceeding to address location privacy issues, apart from the [FCC’s] pending proceeding on customer proprietary network information. … Industry perspectives are also likely to diverge; cellular providers appear to support the `express authorization’ (or `opt-in’) approach embodied in the [Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999], while the [Bell operating companies] have traditionally advocated an `opt-out’ approach to the collection and use of CPNI,” said EPIC.
“CTIA argues that location CPNI is unique to wireless services and should be separately considered from other CPNI issues. We see no justification for separate consideration of CPNI rules for wireless carriers. … Notice is not notice when buried in other documents or letters or when a consumer must take steps to learn of the invasion of their privacy. Consent is not consent when hidden in `agreements’ or on Web pages,” said the Wireless Consumers Alliance.
“The [Wireless Advertising Association] strongly suggests that the FCC approach this area fully mindful of the fact that American business leaders can provide consumers with a great variety of business plans and service offerings only so long as the FCC forebears from detailed and constricting regulations. … The marketplace may well be best served by the FCC relying on self regulation by existing industry players, and engaging in selective enforcement actions as needed, meaning that no rulemaking is required at this time,” said WAA.
EPIC, WCA and WAA all filed comments on April 6. In total, there were more than 20 comments filed from location vendors, carriers, manufacturers and consumer privacy advocates. The FCC will accept reply comments until April 24.
Wireless location privacy is a subset of a larger electronic privacy debate swirling around Washington.
Various bills have either been introduced or are expected to be introduced in Congress this year regarding the protection of personal privacy in an online environment. It is hard to tell whether any of these proposals will become law as Congress gets caught up in general budget and appropriations matters.
