WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the House Energy and Commerce Committee strengthened the privacy of cell phone users across the country by voting to approve a bipartisan amendment championed by Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Representative Joseph Pitts (R-PA) to the “Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act.” The Pitts/Markey amendment will prevent telecommunications companies from disclosing the phone number of any consumer without their express, prior consent.

“Almost 200 million cell phones are used by Americans every day. It is the right of consumers – not companies – to decide who can contact them at any moment,” said Rep. Markey.  “Moms and Dads across America who buy cell phones to keep track of their kids should not have to fear that the entire world can access their children in a public directory.”

“The addition of this important provision, which prevents the disclosure of cell phone numbers without the permission of consumers, is a huge victory for consumer privacy.  Consumers should not be subject to the unwanted privacy intrusion of having their cell phone records put on display without their express permission,” Markey concluded.

The bi-partisan provision requires that companies receive consumer consent before listing the names of cell phone customers in a public directory. This amendment is derived from H.R. 1139 – the “Wireless 411 Privacy Act” introduced one year ago by Reps. Markey and Pitts.

The amendment has been successfully attached to legislation that seeks to thwart the public sale of personal phone records. Recently, dozens of websites were found to be selling detailed consumer phone records. Rep. Markey has led the fight against this practice and wrote the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission to take swift action to stop such anti-consumer conduct on the Internet.

For more information on Rep. Markey’s work to protect Americans’ personal data, please visit http://markey.house.gov