FTC sues over sales of cellphone logs

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission said yesterday that it sued five Internet companies, alleging they broke a federal law by selling cellphone records, an issue that has touched off privacy concerns on Capitol Hill and among privacy protection groups.

The lawsuit, filed in five federal district courts, seeks to stop sales of the logs, which include records of incoming and outgoing cellphone calls and, sometimes, the times of those calls.

The FTC also seeks to reclaim money made by the five companies that allegedly collected, advertised, and sold the information to third parties.

Separately, the three largest wireless phone companies -- Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular Wireless LLC, and Verizon Wireless -- sued similar companies.

''Wireless customers deserve to believe and know that their information is kept private," said Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless, which has sued a half-dozen companies and has worked with law enforcement agencies to track down other record sellers.

In its complaints, the FTC said cellphone customers did not authorize the companies to obtain access to or sell their records. It alleges that the defendants used stolen documents, committed fraud or posed as consumers to get the wireless carriers to release confidential phone records.

One company named in the lawsuit, Integrity Security & Investigation Services Inc. of Yorktown, Va., offers on its website a ''home infidelity kit" and private investigation service for people who suspect their spouses of cheating.

Cellphone records are protected by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which says phone records are private property.