988 Administrator: Texters' Privacy Remains Paramount
Georouting of texts to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline -- like calls to the hotline -- won't use a caller's exact physical location but be based on broader geographic data, preserving privacy, according to Lifeline administrator Vibrant Emotional Health. In a filing posted Friday (docket 18-336), Vibrant said georouting of texts would likely use identical or similar boundaries to those developed during proof of concept for voice calls, minimizing user-specific data.
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Vibrant said that while it is involved in discussions regarding and preparation for text georouting, "this discovery process should not replace rulemaking." It said a georouting text requirement would give providers "the necessary level of guidance." The 988 call georouting order approved unanimously during the FCC's October meeting included an NPRM about text georouting (see 2410170026).