Atlanta- Georgia consumers would be protected from companies that want to buy and sell information concerning their telephone calls under a bill introduced by Rep. Cecily Hill (R-St. Marys) on Thursday.
House Bill 1290, known as the Consumer Telephone Protection Act, would prohibit the sale or fraudulent transfer or use of consumer telephone records purchased through a telephone service provider.
The only way the records could be distributed would be with the consent of the consumer.
“With the proliferation of sales calls coming in on cell phones and the problems we’ve had nationwide with consumer privacy, I thought this bill was extremely necessary,” said Hill. “The legislation would give phone companies the right to prosecute anyone who illegally obtains their phone records and sells them.”
Congress is considering similar legislation to protect consumers when it comes to the privacy of telephone records.
“It’s appalling to think that companies can profit from selling our confidential information-who we talk to and when we talk to them,” Hill said. “This legislation extends protections on all Georgians privacy.”
The bill has been assigned to the House xxx Committee. Co sponsors include state Representative Jeff Lewis (R-White), Representative Roger Lane
(R-Darien), and Representative Bob Lane (R-Statesboro).
A federal judge in Trenton, New Jersey issued one of the strongest rulings yet to protect consumer privacy. This judge gave a preliminary injunction against the current and former owners of the notorious website LocateCell.com- Data Find Solutions, First Source Information Specialists and related companies- and other affiliated Websites. These companies had fraudulently attempted to obtain customer records by calling Verizon Wireless customer service centers and posed as Verizon Wireless employees needing access to confidential customer information.
For additional information, contact the Rep. Hill’s office at 404-656-0177.