On Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) that started the process of strengthening the Commission’s rules on notifying customers and federal law enforcement of data breaches. The Commission stated that the proposed updates would mean that the FCC data breach notification rules were more aligned with federal and state laws regarding data breaches in other sectors. The current law already requires telecommunications carriers to protect the privacy and security of sensitive customers information, however, the rules must reflect the growing threat of data breaches and the risk they pose to customers.
The NPRM also seeks to make it a requirement that companies notify customers of inadvertent breaches, as well as to notify the FCC, FBI, and US Secret Service of all reportable breaches. Rosenworcel stated that customers deserve to be protected against the frequency, sophistication, and and scale of data leaks since the consequences can last years and vary in severity.
Read More: FCC Proposes Stricter Data Breach Reporting Requirements
