Phone firms sharing your info

If Arizona regulators have their way, phone companies soon will face tougher requirements about how they use or share your phone records.

Members of the Arizona Corporation Commission have given preliminary approval to regulations that they say will help consumers who want to help keep their phone records confidential. The regulations would make Arizona rules tougher than federal rules.

"That's my information," said Jeff Hatch-Miller, chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, "and I never expected when I bought a phone, there'd be any chance of tracking who I called or for how long, except for a police force."

In researching the proposed rules, commissioners asked phone companies with whom the companies have shared customers' phone records, but the companies largely declined to answer. Their reason: They consider their sharing practices proprietary information.

In filings with the commission, phone companies said they use customer information to determine which consumers may want to hear about their new products or services.

Sprint said it has shared customer phone records with Northwest Airlines and IBM. Those companies must sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent them from sharing the information further, Sprint said.

Qwest told the commission it keeps a customer's records for two years after service is disconnected. Federal law allows this to help phone companies who want to win back former customers.

New option for consumers

The new state rules would give consumers a new chance to decide if, and how, their phone information should be used. And phone companies would need to follow up each year to make sure customers don't change their minds.

Under the new rules, consumers could expect to receive requests for permission from their local, long-distance and cellular phone companies this year, said Kris Mayes, a member of the corporation commission.

"These companies have been hungrily eyeing this information. They want to use it," Mayes said.

If customers consent, phone companies may share the information with other divisions of their companies, or with third parties.

AT&T, Qwest, Verizon Communications and a group of wireless phone providers have objected to the commission's proposed privacy rules. The telecommunications companies said they follow federal privacy laws, and no consumers complain.

"The federal courts have already established a system that protects consumers," Verizon California Inc. said in a December letter to the commission.

Also in December, Qwest said in a letter to the commission that commissioners "failed to demonstrate that carriers were abusing [records] in Arizona or that the public was being harmed."

Phone companies said they already ask for permission when customers sign up, and customers have not complained about how the information is used.

During a recent two-year period, state regulators reported receiving one complaint about information being misused, according to a letter filed in 2005 by Arizona wireless carriers.

The changes are being reviewed by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, said Andrea Esquer, a spokeswoman for Goddard.

If Goddard approves, and the commission gives final approval, the new regulation can go into effect in about 60 days.

Fine print is confusing

A consumer privacy advocate said the fine print in bills can make it hard for consumers to understand how to protect their information.

Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in an e-mail interview that Verizon's privacy notice appears on the last page of its bills and doesn't use the word "privacy."

Other customers end up exasperated, Hoofnagle said, when they try to tell phone companies not to share what the industry calls customer proprietary network information, or CPNI.

"I get calls about this every week," Hoofnagle said. "The common complaint is that they call to opt out of CPNI sharing, and the customer service representative doesn't know what CPNI is."

Quest spokesman Jeff Mirasola said it has carefully followed federal laws that limit how customer information can be used.

AT&T spokeswoman Timi Aguilar said AT&T has guarded its customers' privacy: "For consistency's sake, we'd like to stick with one set of rules, as established by the Federal Communications Commission."

This year, Congress has held hearings about Internet businesses that sell phone records. William Mundell, a member of the corporation commission, said that's one reason to question whether current privacy protection is strong enough.

"Right now, they're saying they're protecting the information," he said, "but it's obviously getting out."

● What does your phone company know about you?

Local, long-distance and cellular phone companies can keep records about what numbers you call, when and how long you call, what phone services you pay for and other information. Companies call this information customer proprietary network information, or CPNI.

● How can it use your information?

Companies must request your approval to share CPNI. The request often comes in writing with a bill or contract. However consumers should be careful not to overlook or ignore that request: Under federal law, failing to answer sometimes is the same as giving permission.

● How do you protect your CPNI?

Tell companies you want to opt out of sharing your CPNI. Also, ask to place a password on your account. This helps protect records if someone steals your Social Security number or other personal information.

● Recent e-mails warn that federal law will change soon and allow telemarketers to call cellular phone numbers. That's not true, according to the Federal Communications Commission Web site.

The e-mails tell people to add their cell phone numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry. People can register their numbers on the do-not-call list, according to the FCC. However, federal law will continue to ban telemarketers from calling cell phones using automated dialers — the main method for sales calls.