FCC Seeks Comment on Proposed Updates to TRS Data Breach Reporting Requirements

Comments Due:  February 22, 2023
Reply Comments Due: March 24, 2023

On January 6, 2023, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to update and strengthen the Commission’s rules concerning data breaches implicating customer proprietary network information (CPNI), including breaches impacting Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) providers. On January 23, 2023, a summary of the Notice was published in the Federal Register, which establishes the comment due dates.

More specifically, with respect to TRS, the item proposes:

1. To expand the Commission’s definition of “breach” to include inadvertent disclosures of customer information;
2. To require TRS providers to notify the Commission, in addition to the Secret Service and FBI, as soon as practicable after discovery of a breach; and
3. To eliminate the mandatory waiting period to notify customers, instead requiring TRS providers to notify customers of CPNI breaches without unreasonable delay after discovery of a breach unless law enforcement requests a delay.

Additionally, the item seeks comment on the following issues as they relate to TRS providers:

1. Whether to adopt a harm-based trigger for breach notifications;
2. Whether to adopt minimum requirements for the content of customer breach notices; and
3. Whether to address breaches of sensitive personal information.

Interested parties may file comments by accessing the Electronic Comment Filing System at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings.  All filings must reference WC Docket No. 22-21. People with disabilities who need assistance to file comments may request assistance by email to FCC504@fcc.gov. 

Links to the item:
URL:  https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposes-updated-data-breach-reporting-requirements  
Text:  https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-102A1.txt
Word:  https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-102A1.docx  
PDF:  https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-102A1.pdf

For general information about CPNI, visit: https://www.fcc.gov/enforcement/areas/privacy.  For specific information about this item, contact Melissa Kirkel, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-7958 or melissa.kirkel@fcc.gov.  Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).