Proposed Legislation to Curb 1.3 million Demand for Subscriber Information in 2011

Recently, cellphone carriers reported they responded to 1.3 million demands for subscriber information in 2011 from law enforcement agencies seeking text messages, caller locations and other information in the course of investigations.

With the introduction of a newly drafted legislation by Representative Edward Markey, he is looking for a way to curb the growing number of requests wireless carriers receive from U.S. law enforcement agencies for their customers’ phone records.

Peter Modafferi, chief of detectives for the Rockland County district attorney’s office in New York stated, “At every crime scene, there’s some type of mobile device, the need for the police to exploit that technology has grown tremendously, and it’s absolutely vital”

The proposed bill will also asks the Federal Communications Commission to devise regulations setting a limit on how long wireless carriers can keep customers’ personal information.

The Obama administration is looking for ways to give consumers more control over personal information while surfing the Internet on laptops and mobile phones. The administration unveiled plans to protect the privacy of Internet titled “The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” which outlined principles that the administration expects Internet companies to adopt, even if legislation isn’t passed.

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