The Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., requested an emergency briefing on the measures taken by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission regarding wireless carriers' unauthorized disclosure of real-time location data.

In a letter sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Jan. 11, Rep. Pallone said that an emergency briefing is necessary in the interest of public safety, and therefore cannot wait until President Donald Trump decides to reopen the government. "We must work expeditiously to address these public safety concerns."

The letter comes after a report by Vice Media's Motherboard, which highlighted how mobile providers share their users' location data. The report by Motherboard prompted T-Mobile US Inc. and AT&T Inc. to cut ties with MicroBilt Corp., a company found to have sold such data from consumer devices to a wide range of companies.