12 consumer and privacy groups asked the FCC not to roll back protections for sensitive telephone information including metadata (CPNI).

CPNI stands for Customer Proprietary Network Information and refers to the data collected by telecommunication providers about a consumer’s telephone calls. It includes the time, date, duration and destination number of each call and the type of network a consumer subscribes to.

The FCC is considering the “burden” of the CPNI certification process, which requires the agent of a telecom to certify that CPNI protections are in place and to explain to the agency how they work.

The groups, including Media Alliance, requested the certification process stay in place to deter misuse.