FCC to consider allowing law enforcement to see blocked caller IDs

The Federal Communications Commission will consider a proposal to allow law enforcement to unmask hidden caller IDs when threatening calls are made.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a blog post on Thursday that the proposal comes in response to a wave of threats called into Jewish community centers earlier this year.

“The FCC’s current rules require voice providers not to reveal blocked Caller ID information or to use that information to allow the person getting a call to contact the caller,” Pai wrote. “These rules have an important purpose, but they can raise a particular public safety concern.”

{mosads} In March, the FCC approved a waiver for law enforcement to access hidden caller ID information after Jewish community centers around the country were hit with anonymous bomb threats.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had written to Pai requesting the waiver.

The proposal would allow law enforcement and people receiving threatening calls to bypass privacy protections that allow callers to hide their information. The rule defines threatening calls as “any call that includes a threat of serious and imminent unlawful action posing a substantial risk to property, life, safety, or health.”

It would also extend the waiver that was granted in March.