It’s hard to imagine life without our telephones. They’re a vital link to our friends and relatives, doctors and other service providers, government agencies and emergency personnel, shops and restaurants. Mobile phones have become ubiquitous; last year it was reported that 90 percent of American adults owned a cell phone and 64 percent had smartphones. We think of our phones as being very personal, especially mobile phones, which we carry wherever we go.

It’s because of the personal nature of our phones that we have strong rights concerning telephone privacy. There are rules that protect the privacy of telephone customers’ information (such as the phone numbers we call and the phone-related services we use). We also have rights concerning unwanted calls, including robocalls – calls made using automatic dialing systems or prerecorded messages. When it comes to cell phones, we have even stronger rights regarding robocalls. Except for emergency situations, robocalls can’t be made to our cell phones unless we expressly consent to receive them.

Lately it seems as though our telephone privacy has come under attack. Consumer Federation of America has joined other groups in opposing efforts to broaden the circumstances under which robocalls can be made to cell phones (see, for instance, http://consumerfed.org/testimonial/letter-to-fcc-regarding-ex-parte-meeting-on-petitions-of-blackboard-inc-and-edison-electric-institute/ and http://consumerfed.org/testimonial/group-comments-on-the-petitions-for-declaratory-ruling-by-the-american-banker-association/ ). We’re also concerned about questions that have been raised about the privacy of information that consumers provide to telephone companies in order to qualify for the Lifeline program, which provides subsidies to help low-income Americans obtain affordable phone service.

We need to hold the line to ensure that our telephone privacy rights are not eroded.