Cynical former Verizon employee and FCC chairman Ajit Pai is proposing more detailed location data to be sent with 911 calls, and--brace yourself for a shocker--the proposal includes zero mentions of user privacy. The so-called "Z-axis" data that would be added to 911 calls would transmit vertical location to emergency services, potentially helping them know, for example, what floor of a building a caller is on.
Given the fact that U.S. cellular providers have recently been under (an insufficient amount of) scrutiny for selling 911 location data to third parties, it would seem that any addition of further sensitive data should rightly be paired with some consideration of privacy issues. This FCC couldn't possibly care less about your privacy.
Jon Brodkin, for Ars Technica:
We asked Pai's office yesterday to explain why the current version of the proposal doesn't address privacy and security as well as whether the FCC plans any specific privacy rules for Z-axis data. We also asked about the status of the FCC's investigation into carriers selling location data. We'll update this story if we get a response.
Sure, Jon. Go ahead and hold your breath on that one.