State Legislature Considers 911 Privacy Bill

The state of Tennessee could be the latest to make 911 calls entirely confidential, under a bill being considered by a legislative committee. State Rep. Mike Sparks (R) introduced the HB 1539 last month with the intent to protect victims of crime from retaliation, and callers from hearing their emotional incidents played out in the media. The proposed bill does provide paths to disclosing 911 calls—with written consent from the caller or by court order. Several states have laws that provide some measure of privacy of 911 calls, balanced with the public’s need to know that their communications centers are being properly operated. Download (pdf) the proposed law here, and a news story about the bill here.