FairPoint told Maine regulators that its privacy policy doesn’t p...
FairPoint told Maine regulators that its privacy policy doesn’t permit it to give customer call records to government agencies unless an agency’s request “satisfies all procedural and substantive legal requirements and is otherwise proper.” FairPoint described its privacy policies…
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in a filing with the Public Utilities Commission that fulfilled a condition for PUC approval of FairPoint’s purchase of Verizon landline assets. FairPoint said its privacy policy requires that court or agency subpoenas and other such orders seeking customer data be valid, properly issued and legally enforceable. FairPoint said its policy bars release of customer data in response to requests by private parties and requires “diligent” reviews to ensure that any governmental request or demand is an official act by an authorized agency. In testimony last week to the Maine legislature’s Joint Standing Utilities and Energy Committee, Walter Leach, FairPoint executive vice president for development, said his company never has given customer phone records to a federal agency. PUC concern over FairPoint privacy policies stemmed from its investigation into whether Verizon violated state laws by collaborating with a secret National Security Agency domestic phone surveillance project. That probe is on hold pending a final federal court ruling on whether states are preempted from investigating NSA-related privacy matters. FairPoint’s 10-page privacy policy also bars sharing information on individual customers with third parties unless needed to provide the customer telecom services. FairPoint’s policy says the company won’t share sensitive customer information with outside marketers, and commits the company to ensuring that customer information “is not used without the knowledge and permission of our customers.” According to FairPoint’s policy, the company never “intrudes upon, tampers with or discloses” any transmission or communication except to maintain its phone network or as required by law. The PUC said it may address FairPoint’s privacy policy filing at its March 24 meeting.