FCC Approves NPRM on Easing Access to Caller ID Information When Threats Are Made

Governmental Affairs Bureau gave Jewish community centers an emergency waiver to trace a wave of bomb threats (see 1703030062). Under the proposal, institutions facing harassing or threatening calls would be able to work with law enforcement to access caller ID information of anonymous callers more quickly than the current, case-by-case waiver process, FCC officials said. “The proposal would amend the FCC’s rules to ensure that law enforcement and threatened parties can quickly identify threatening callers without the regulatory delay of applying for and being granted a waiver of the rules,” said a Thursday news release. “The proposal lays out a path that protects consumer privacy by ensuring that caller information only be disclosed for truly threatening calls and that only law enforcement personnel and others responsible for the safety and security of the threatened party have access to otherwise-protected caller ID information.” Chairman Ajit Pai said there are valid reasons for rules that in general keep the calling information private. “Blocking caller ID information for calls made from domestic violence shelters can protect people at risk of injury or even death,” Pai said. “But the protections afforded by this rule can also be abused, as events earlier this year suggested. In these circumstances, the core value of public safety must outweigh any privacy interest a caller may have in his or her phone number.” When an incoming call “is a threat of serious and imminent unlawful action, and the phone number is blocked, it is critical for law enforcement to be able to quickly identify its origin,” said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. “Their ability to obtain caller ID information can literally be a matter of life or death.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said he sought changes to the NPRM and it now asks for comment on how to define security personnel “to ensure that it is an appropriate set of professionals.”