Four Things You Need to Know About Privacy of 911 Callers

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to pass rules that will require mobile phone carriers to provide emergency responders with precise location information about customers who call 911. In months leading up to the Order, groups urged the FCC to resolve privacy and security concerns associated with mobile phone customers’ location information. Here are the four things you need to know:

1. First, the FCC clearly heard the privacy and security concerns.
2. Second, although the FCC heard these concerns, it is unclear whether and how these concerns will be addressed by the 911 location system when it is ultimately deployed.
3. Third, the FCC still has not addressed alternate uses of the underlying technology that will be developed and deployed to support 911 location accuracy.
4. Fourth, the FCC is uniquely positioned to protect privacy in telecommunications.