A group of consumer rights, human rights, and civil liberties organizations, along with members of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Advisory Board, has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission seeking repeal of the requirement that providers of toll telephone service retain customer call records for 18 months. The petition argues that this rule exposes consumers to data breaches, stifles innovation, reduces market competition, and threatens fundamental privacy rights, and that these public interest arms, along with changes in the way carriers bill for toll services, warrant elimination of the records retention requirement.
