FCC Privacy Rules May Block Cable Cos’ JV With Sprint

A very interesting development in the cable companies-and-Sprint wireless joint venture: Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox would be prevented from sharing customer data with Sprint Nextel under new FCC privacy rules, say lawyers and one of the companies, reports DJ. The three cable companies will be required to seek their customers’ permission through an opt-in to allow them to share their personal information with Sprint.
According to a Washington-based telecom lawyer cited in the story. the cable companies would be expected to mount a legal challenge to the rules rather than accept the disruption to their businesses. The FCC rules are aimed at preventing a practice known as pretexting, the story says, which is an attempt by impersonators or other scam artists to access people’s phone records. They then use that information to get credit, steal assets or investigate the individual. The rules, released by the FCC thsi week, state that telecom companies will no longer be able to share private customer data with “joint venture partners or independent contractors” without first seeking customer opt-in permission to do so.

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