Mobile providers at center of privacy storm

Major wireless providers are facing new scrutiny into their privacy practices after a bombshell report sparked a public outcry and questions from lawmakers.

A story from tech news site Motherboard last week detailed how easy it is to track individuals with just a cellphone number using data aggregation companies. The report put a new spotlight on how wireless providers monetize their users’ real-time location data and set off a rush in the industry to abandon the practice and avoid new regulations.

Democratic lawmakers are questioning why the data practices were in place for so long and are pushing the Trump administration’s regulators to get serious about cracking down on the industry.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, demanded that Republican Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai provide Congress with an emergency briefing and investigate the location-sharing agreements, writing in a letter that “the public can no longer rely on [the wireless industry’s] voluntary promises to protect this extremely sensitive information.”

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