Examining call center cell phone regulations

Examining call center cell phone regulations

Are employees in a call center allowed to have personal wireless phones in their possession, or is this prohibited by the FCC? What other federal laws govern the call center business?

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For security reasons, most call centers that handle sensitive information do not allow their agents to bring anything personal with them when they come into the call center. These organizations give their staff lockers so that they can keep their purses, briefcases, note pads, cell phones, etc. outside of the call center. This reduces, but does not eliminate, internal security risks. Every company establishes their own security guidelines; this is not regulated by the FCC.

Throughout the world, regulations have been established to address the handling of calls. For example, in the United States, we have the PCI security standards council that sets guidelines for the handling and playback of customer credit card information. (Please note that PCI is not a federal or state regulation; it was established by the credit card industry.) In the US, the FCC regulates the types of calls that need to be recorded and the handing of outbound calls. Other countries have their own guidelines.

This was first published in April 2009