sound out there is no sound intellect why Ajit Pai should rebuff an invitation to brief lawmakers during the government activity shutdown , the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday criticized the FCC heading for refusing to appear for a briefing about theongoing controversyover Americans ’ real - time location data being disclosed to unauthorized third - parties .
In a call on Monday , Pai ’s stave told Democrats that he would not appear to discuss his agency ’s advance in tackling the issue due to the shutdown . His presence was requested last week for an “ emergency briefing ” by the citizens committee ’s chairperson , Rep. Frank Pallone , Jr. , who , citing a threat tolaw enforcement , military force , and domestic abuse dupe , say the matter could not wait for the shutdown to be resolved .
substantial portion of the Union government have been closedsince December 22 , as President Trump has refused to sign up any spending bill that does n’t let in trillion of dollars to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico delimitation . The House of Representatives and Senate have both passed broadside excluding the money . After FCC funds dried up on Jan. 3 , the commission said it would stop all employment irrelevant to “ the protective covering of life and property . ”
Attention spike over the earphone - tracking issue last week afterMotherboard revealedthat one of its newsperson care to grow the location of a cellphone in Queens , New York , through a $ 300 back - alley deal . The report postdate aNew York Times storylast April that discover how headphone - position data point was being funneled by “ middleman ” companies from carriers such as AT&T and T - Mobile to law enforcement official who would otherwise need a warrant to incur it .
Motherboard security newsman Joseph Cox spell that he had acquired phone - location information from a germ in the bail trammel diligence during the course of an undercover probe and that the sensible data was being routinely acquired by Julian Bond agents ( read “ H.M.S. Bounty hunters ” ) without a subpoena or anterior favorable reception from the courts .
In a letter to the FCC chairman last hebdomad , Pallone sound out it was paramount his committee investigate the topic at once and that it could not expect “ until President Trump decides to reopen the government . ” However , committee members say on Monday that Pai had declined to brief them mention the shutdown , while asserting ( in Pallone ’s word ) that the topic was “ not a threat to the safety of human spirit or property . ”
Neither Pai nor his boss of faculty , Matthew Berry , placed the call apprise Pallone ’s office of his refusal , accord to a senior Democratic aide , who said the news came instead from a lower - level staffer .
Pallone responded to Pai ’s conclusion in a statement , saying , “ There ’s nothing in the law that should break the Chairman personally from meeting about this serious threat that could allow malefactor to track the positioning of police officer on patrol , victims of domestic abuse , or alien opponent to track military personnel office on American soil . ”
The FCC tell Gizmodo , “ As we separate Committee faculty today , the Commission has been investigating wireless carriers ’ manipulation of location data . regrettably , we were required to suspend that investigation earlier this month because of the lapse in funding , and pursuant to guidance from our expert attorneys , the life history staff that is working on this way out are currently on furlough . Of of course , when the Commission is able to resume normal operations , the investigation will continue . ”
Sen. Ron Wyden , whoraised questionsabout the extralegal sale of placement data to correctional officers last leaping , criticise Pai for make “ enough timeto tweet cat videosand tired memes , ” while reject “ to brief Congress about a real threat to every American ’s security measures . ”
“ It ’s a novel low for someone who has spend his tenure at the FCC refusing to do his line and stand up for American consumers , ” he suppose .
In his varsity letter to Pai last week , Pallone wrote :
Pallone mark that one of Pai ’s colleagues — Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel — had offered to make herself useable to the commission , though she lacks the assurance to manoeuvre agency resource .
“ This is an issue of personal and national security measure , ” Rosenworcel , a Democrat , told Gizmodo by telephone . “ It want an FCC investigating , the world merit answers . There ’s utterly no excuse for postponement . ” She also concurred with Pallone ’s assessment that nothing in the jurisprudence forbid Pai from briefing the commission during a shutdown .
“ What strikes me most , having expend some clip analyze this , is that this is a data ecosystem with no oversight , ” she say . It ’s also very troubling , she said , that wireless carriers , which have logical use for location information , have so well turned it over to “ funny middlemen , ” who seem to have petty remorse about how it used , or by whom .
“ It ’s not unclouded to me that I ever go for to that happen , and I bet you did n’t either , ” she said , adding , “ The FCC should be investigating from top to bottom , we should be auditing to identify every one of those third parties that had access to that data , and we should be figuring out if consumers ever gave their consent for this to occur . ”
T - Mobile , Sprint , and AT&T have eachsaid publiclythat they plan to end all contracts with location aggregator — the companies , like Zumigo , which have been implicated in reach location data over to wildcat parties ( including the bond agents ) . T - Mobile , whose underhanded data practices were central to the Motherboard investigation , has said it will polish off end its contract with the locating company in March . ( It first claimed to be doing so last May . )
The nation ’s other major wireless carrier , Verizon , whose data was not useable for leverage in Motherboard ’s report , tell Gizmodo its ties to the companies were all cut last year .
“ As you ’re most belike cognizant , Verizon is not among the company cited in late medium accounts regarding issues with location trailing . We have followed through on our loyalty to terminate aggregation arrangements and furnish locating entropy only with the express consent of our customers , ” a Verizon spokesperson said .
The troupe added that it had keep prior arraignments with four wayside assistance companies during the wintertime “ for public safe reasons , ” but that those company “ harmonise to transition out of the existing arrangements by the end of March . ”
Update , 1/15 : Added statement from FCC .
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