Reported today on Ars Technica, subscribers to the cellular service of Verizon will need to make a call to remove Customer Proprietary Network Information from the ability to be shared with ‘affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries’.

to wit:

The company says that customers who do not want their CPNI data shared need to call 1-800-333-9956 to “opt-out.” Upon dialing the opt-out number, Verizon customers will be prompted for their phone number, billing ZIP code, and last four digits of their Social Security Numbers (in the case of businesses, their Employer ID numbers). Failure to opt-out will be interpreted by Verizon Wireless as “consent” to the company’s data-sharing practices.

Once again, the FCC is a day late and a dollar short, as it is very concerned about the protection of CPNI data, and is exploring the possibility of strengthening its rules on the issue, Verizon’s opt-out notice appears to fulfill the Commission’s CPNI disclosure requirements.

This is nice to know, but why weren’t the concerns there before the opt-out was necessary?

All of this comes about because of the re-wording and other changing of the customer agreements. All of this seems to have been spurred by the AT&T changes allowing removal of users who had the temerity to criticize that company publicly.

If your provider is Verizon, and you value your cellular privacy, and don’t want your other calling habits made public, it’s time to make the call.

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[tags] Verizon, Vodafone, AT&T, CPNI information, FCC [/tags]