Senate Panel Backs Phone Record Privacy Bill

SENATE PANEL BACKS PHONE RECORD PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday approved legislation to protect consumers' telephone records by making it illegal to sell such information without consent. The measure would boost penalties to as much as $30,000 per incident and up to $3 million for continuing violations by telephone companies that fail to properly safeguard consumer information. The bill would also require carriers to inform consumers if their information was accessed without permission and let companies and individuals sue when their records are illegally obtained. Similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives would increase fines to as much as $300,000 per violation and a maximum of $3 million for continuing incidents.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID...

* Commerce Committee Approves Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=253343

* Senate Committee Address Phone Records Privacy, But Falls Short Of Protecting Consumers
http://www.hearusnow.org/other/newsroom/wirelessservices/senatecommittee...