"Most Top Mobile Carriers Retain Geolocation Data For Two Years on Average, FCC Findings Show"
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently found that the top 15 mobile carriers collect geolocation data and provide no way for consumers to opt out. AT&T, Best Buy Health, Charter, Comcast, Consumer Cellular, C-Spire, DISH Network, Google FI, H2O Wireless, Lycramobile, Mint Mobile, Red Pocket, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon responded to the FCC inquiry. The FCC stated that mobile phones know a lot about us, who we are, who we call, and where we are at any given moment. This information and geolocation data are really sensitive, the FCC noted. That is why the FCC is taking steps to ensure this data is protected. In their responses, companies generally cited the need to comply with law enforcement requests as well as FCC rules as their reason for being unable to allow consumers to opt out of collection and retention. The responses also provided a window into data retention practices, which ranged from two months to five years for cellular tower data for the responding companies. The FCC noted that only seven of the companies explicitly mentioned protecting that data with encryption. Justin Brookman, director of technology policy at Consumer Reports, stated that the FCC, now knowing what they know, needs to say when is holding on too long and when are the secondary uses to which they’re using the data too much. Carriers have misled consumers about how they used their geolocation data before. In 2020, the FCC proposed more than $200 million in fines against several major carriers for selling customer location data to bail bond companies and other third parties.