WASHINGTON-A bill outlawing deceptive tactics by data brokers to acquire and sell cell phone records may soon get a vote on the House floor, after mysteriously being pulled from a scheduled vote in early May.
The possible breakthrough follows a meeting last week between House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). Democrats and Republicans on the House Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee complained about the bill’s still-unexplained disappearance during two days of hearings on Internet data broker pre-texting-impersonating consumers in order to pry phone records and other subscriber information from cell phone carriers-last week.
“I don’t see the purpose of having hearings when we can’t pass bills,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).
“Mr. Barton did talk to Mr. Boehner yesterday (Wednesday). I’m told it was a cordial meeting and that H.R. 4943 was one of the matters that they discussed. Our impression is that the bill will move,” said Terry Lane, deputy communications director of the Commerce Committee. A related data privacy bill scheduled for a House vote earlier this year also has fallen out of sight.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Commerce Committee, voiced frustration with the “curious legislative limbo” of cell phone records and data privacy bills. “I’m becoming impatient with why [the bills] have not been heard from,” the powerful Michigan lawmaker said.
The House Commerce Committee passed the bipartisan-supported pre-texting bill March 16. The measure was set for a fast-track House vote on May 2, but was tabled and has been hung up ever since. There is speculation the House Intelligence Committee blocked full House consideration of the phone-records bill because some lawmakers want an exemption from the legislation’s privacy protection provisions for government intelligence gathering activities.
“I just think this is atrocious. This issue and this legislation are not going away,” said Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.).
The House Judiciary Committee has passed legislation criminalizing pre-texting. Other bills that would crack down on Internet data broker pre-texting are pending in the Senate.
At last Wednesday’s hearing, 11 data-broker executives invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, refusing to answer questions of the House Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee about deceptive practices to secure mobile phone records and other customer information sold to banks, major corporations, law enforcement, news outlets and others. Private investigators, one group that purchases cell phone records from Internet data brokers, are not regulated in most states.
The revelation earlier this year that Internet data brokers were using fraudulent means to help secure customer cell phone records ignited a flurry of lawsuits and investigations by federal and state officials.
Despite refusal of data brokers to testify, Barton vowed to continue the investigation. “Congress needs to pass the act as soon as possible,” he said.
The House subcommittee heard testimony from a victim of cell phone record fraud and two experienced data brokers. One broker, James Rapp, nonchalantly detailed to lawmakers the ease in manipulating cellular customer service agents and retail sales personnel into turning over phone records of consumers. However, Rapp said some mobile phone carriers have tightened up their practices to make it harder for data brokers to fraudulently acquire wireless phone records.
The subcommittee probe, which revealed data brokers also are obtaining and selling customer location information to third parties, have begun contacting the nation’s four mobile phone carriers as part of the investigation.
“I want to make data brokering illegal as well as reprehensible,” said Barton. “In the meantime, I hope our friends in the police agencies and the various law enforcement agencies will find a more efficient way to go that extra step to get the warrants, to get the subpoenas, to go to the courts instead of data brokers to get at the information they need.”
At a separate House hearing, eBay Inc. President Meg Whitman and Scott Taylor, chief privacy officer at Hewlett-Packard Co., urged lawmakers to pass comprehensive and pre-emptive federal privacy legislation.
Meantime, the Federal Trade Commerce was prompted to put out a statement last week in response to e-mails circulating on the Internet about the need to register cell phone numbers with the Do Not Call Registry.
“Consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers at any time in the near future…It is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the DNC Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones,” the FTC stated.
