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House panel revises telco witnesses for 'pretexting' hearing

Anne Broache Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Anne Broache
covers Capitol Hill goings-on and technology policy from Washington, D.C.
Anne Broache
2 min read

The top dogs at several major wireless phone companies and the chairpersons of two major federal regulatory agencies won't be testifying at a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on the shady practice of "pretexting" after all.

In a press release issued late on Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations panel clarified that the presidents and CEOs of T-Mobile, Cingular Wireless, Alltel Wireless, Verizon Wireless, and others will not be testifying, but rather lawyers and vice presidents from the firms. The top executives had been invited, but had also been told that they could send delegates in their stead, according to a committee aide.

The subcommittee also noted that that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras would not be participating, but instead others from their agencies would appear.

Friday's proceedings are part of a broader investigation by the subcommittee on the practice of pretexting, or employing fraudulent means to swindle personal phone records without the owner's consent. On Thursday, politicians plan to grill Hewlett-Packard executives and hired investigators on their roles in a boardroom scandal that reportedly involved pretexting to obtain records of directors, employees and reporters during an investigation of media leaks.

The revised witness list for Friday morning's hearing, titled "Internet Data Brokers and Pretexting: Who Has Access to Your Private Records," is now slated to include:

*Thomas Meiss, Associate General Counsel, Cingular Wireless
*Michael Holden, Litigation Counsel, Verizon Wireless
*Charles Wunsch, Vice President for Corporate Transactions and Business Law, Sprint Nextel
*Lauren Venezia, Deputy General Counsel, T-Mobile USA, Inc.
*Greg Schaeffer, Chief Security Officer, Alltel Wireless
*Rochelle Boersma, Vice President for Customer Service, U.S. Cellular
*Joel Winston, Associate Director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
*Kris Anne Monteith, Chief, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission