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STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN KEVIN J. MARTIN
Re: 1st Source Information Specialists, Inc., d/b/a LocateCell.com,
Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture, EB File No. EB-05-TC-059; FRN 0014762439; NAL Acct. No.
200632170005.
As I testified to Congress earlier this year, the Commission is taking
numerous steps to protect the privacy of consumers' personal phone
records. One of these steps is our current investigation into whether
telecommunications carriers are complying with their customer privacy
obligations under the Communications Act. Examining how data brokers are
able to access consumer call records from these carriers is an integral
part of this investigation.
Responding to Commission subpoenas is not optional. We expect that
subpoenas, as well as all of our requests for information, will be
responded to completely and promptly. Although we propose the maximum
forfeiture against LocateCell for its failure to adequately respond, I
fear that the amount we propose - $97,500 - is merely a cost of doing
business. As I have said previously, it is my hope that, in the future,
our statutory maximum will be increased. If companies such as LocateCell
have no incentive to comply with our requests for information, our
enforcement processes will be severely compromised.
The Commission remains committed to ensuring that consumers' personal
phone data is kept confidential. Our investigation is ongoing. In addition
to this investigation, we intend to complete the proceeding we began
several months ago that seeks to strengthen the safeguards currently in
place to protect customer phone records. The ability of data brokers, such
as LocateCell, to engage in the trafficking of these records is a practice
that must be stopped.