2891. (a) No telephone or telegraph corporation shall make
available to any other person or corporation, without first obtaining
the residential subscriber's consent, in writing, any of the
following information:
(1) The subscriber's personal calling patterns, including any
listing of the telephone or other access numbers called by the
subscriber, but excluding the identification to the person called of
the person calling and the telephone number from which the call was
placed, subject to the restrictions in Section 2893, and also
excluding billing information concerning the person calling which
federal law or regulation requires a telephone corporation to provide
to the person called.
(2) The residential subscriber's credit or other personal
financial information, except when the corporation is ordered by the
commission to provide this information to any electrical, gas, heat,
telephone, telegraph, or water corporation, or centralized credit
check system, for the purpose of determining the creditworthiness of
new utility subscribers.
(3) The services which the residential subscriber purchases from
the corporation or from independent suppliers of information services
who use the corporation's telephone or telegraph line to provide
service to the residential subscriber.
(4) Demographic information about individual residential
subscribers, or aggregate information from which individual
identities and characteristics have not been removed.
(b) Any residential subscriber who gives his or her written
consent for the release of one or more of the categories of personal
information specified in subdivision (a) shall be informed by the
telephone or telegraph corporation regarding the identity of each
person or corporation to whom the information has been released, upon
written request. The corporation shall notify every residential
subscriber of the provisions of this subdivision whenever consent is
requested pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) Any residential subscriber who has, pursuant to subdivision
(b), given written consent for the release of one or more of the
categories of personal information specified in subdivision (a) may
rescind this consent upon submission of a written notice to the
telephone or telegraph corporation. The corporation shall cease to
make available any personal information about the subscriber, within
30 days following receipt of notice given pursuant to this
subdivision.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Information provided by residential subscribers for inclusion
in the corporation's directory of subscribers.
(2) Information customarily provided by the corporation through
directory assistance services.
(3) Postal ZIP Code information.
(4) Information provided under supervision of the commission to a
collection agency by the telephone corporation exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(5) Information provided to an emergency service agency responding
to a 911 telephone call or any other call communicating an imminent
threat to life or property.
(6) Information provided to a law enforcement agency in response
to lawful process.
(7) Information which is required by the commission pursuant to
its jurisdiction and control over telephone and telegraph
corporations.
(8) Information transmitted between telephone or telegraph
corporations pursuant to the furnishing of telephone service between
or within service areas.
(9) Information required to be provided by the corporation
pursuant to rules and orders of the commission or the Federal
Communications Commission regarding the provision over telephone
lines by parties other than the telephone and telegraph corporations
of telephone or information services.
(10) The name and address of the lifeline customers of a telephone
corporation provided by that telephone corporation to a public
utility for the sole purpose of low-income ratepayer assistance
outreach efforts. The telephone corporation receiving the information
request pursuant to this paragraph may charge the requesting utility
for the cost of the search and release of the requested information.
The commission, in its annual low-income ratepayer assistance
report, shall assess whether this information has been helpful in the
low-income ratepayer assistance outreach efforts.
(11) Information provided in response to a request pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 530.8 of the Penal Code.
(e) Every violation is a grounds for a civil suit by the aggrieved
residential subscriber against the telephone or telegraph
corporation and its employees responsible for the violation.
(f) For purposes of this section, "access number" means a telex,
teletex, facsimile, computer modem, or any other code which is used
by a residential subscriber of a telephone or telegraph corporation
to direct a communication to another subscriber of the same or
another telephone or telegraph corporation.
2891.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a telephone corporation
selling or licensing lists of residential subscribers shall not
include the telephone number of any subscriber assigned an unlisted
or unpublished access number. A subscriber may waive all or part of
the protection provided by this subdivision through written notice to
the telephone corporation.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a provider of mobile telephony
services, or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a provider,
providing the name and dialing number of a subscriber for inclusion
in any directory of any form, or selling the contents of any
directory database, or any portion or segment thereof, shall not
include the dialing number of any subscriber without first obtaining
the express consent of that subscriber. The express consent shall
meet all of the following requirements:
(1) It shall be one of the following:
(A) A separate document that is signed and dated by the
subscriber, and that is not attached to any other document.
(B) An affirmative response made on a separate field on an
Internet Web site where there is no default. The provider of mobile
telephony services shall send a confirmation notice to the subscriber'
s electronic mail address, or to a subscriber's postal mail address
if the subscriber does not have an electronic mail account.
(2) It shall be unambiguous, legible, and conspicuously disclose
that, by opting in, the subscriber is consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers and the subscriber's dialing number may be included in a
publicly available directory.
(3) If, under the subscriber's calling plan, the subscriber may be
billed for receiving unsolicited calls or text messaging from a
telemarketer, the provider's form shall include an unambiguous and
legible disclosure statement that, by consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers or included in a publicly available directory, the
subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited
calls or text messages.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a subscriber of mobile
telephony services from voluntarily entering into an agreement for
the placement of his or her name and mobile telephony dialing number
in any advertising program if the agreement satisfies the express
consent requirements of this section.
(d) A subscriber who provides express prior consent pursuant to
subdivision (b) may revoke that consent at any time. A provider of
mobile telephony services shall comply with the subscriber's request
to opt out within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60 days.
(e) A subscriber shall not be charged for making the choice to not
have their name and mobile telephony dialing number be listed in a
publicly available directory assistance database.
(f) This section does not apply to the provision of telephone
numbers to the following parties for the purposes indicated:
(1) To a collection agency, to the extent disclosures made by the
agency are supervised by the commission, exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(2) (A) To any law enforcement agency, fire protection agency,
public health agency, public environmental health agency, city or
county emergency services planning agency, or private for-profit
agency operating under contract with, and at the direction of, one or
more of these agencies, for the exclusive purpose of responding to a
911 call or communicating an imminent threat to life or property.
(B) Any information or records provided to a private for-profit
agency pursuant to this subdivision shall be held in confidence by
that agency and by any individual employed by or associated with that
agency. This information or these records shall not be open to
examination for any purpose not directly connected with the
administration of the services specified in subdivision (e) of
Section 2872 or this paragraph.
(3) To a lawful process issued under state or federal law.
(4) To a telephone corporation providing service between service
areas for the provision to the subscriber of telephone service
between service areas, or to third parties for the limited purpose of
providing billing services.
(5) To a telephone corporation to effectuate a customer's request
to transfer the customer's assigned telephone number from the
customer's existing provider of telecommunications services to a new
provider of telecommunications services.
(6) To the commission pursuant to its jurisdiction and control
over telephone and telegraph corporations.
(g) Every deliberate violation of this section is grounds for a
civil suit by the aggrieved subscriber against the organization or
corporation and its employees responsible for the violation.
(h) For purposes of this section, "unpublished or unlisted access
number" means a telephone, telex, teletex, facsimile, computer modem,
or any other code number that is assigned to a subscriber by a
telephone or telegraph corporation for the receipt of communications
initiated by other telephone or telegraph customers and that the
subscriber has requested that the telephone or telegraph corporation
keep in confidence.
(i) No telephone corporation, nor any official or employee
thereof, shall be subject to criminal or civil liability for the
release of customer information as authorized by this section.
2891.2. Telephone subscribers shall be annually notified that use
of an "800" or "900" telephone number may result in the disclosure of
the subscriber's telephone number to the called party. The
commission shall, by rule or order, impose the responsibility for the
notification with the telephone corporation that offers the caller
identification service, often known as automatic number
identification, in connection with an "800" or "900" service.
2892. (a) A provider of commercial mobile radio service, as defined
in Section 216.8, shall provide access for end users of that service
to the local emergency telephone systems described in the
Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6 (commencing with
Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the
Government Code). "911" shall be the primary access number for those
emergency systems. A provider of commercial mobile radio service, in
accordance with all applicable Federal Communication Commission
orders, shall transmit all "911" calls from technologically
compatible commercial mobile radio service communication devices
without requiring user validation or any similar procedure. A
provider of commercial mobile radio service may not charge any
airtime, access, or similar usage charge for any "911" call placed
from a commercial mobile radio service telecommunications device to a
local emergency telephone system.
(b) A "911" call from a commercial mobile radio service
telecommunications device may be routed to a public safety answering
point other than the Department of the California Highway Patrol only
if the alternate routing meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The "911" call originates from a location other than from a
freeway, as defined in Section 23.5 of the Streets and Highways Code,
under the jurisdiction of the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.
(2) The alternate routing is economically and technologically
feasible.
(3) The alternate routing will benefit public safety and reduce
burdens on dispatchers for the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.
(4) The Department of the California Highway Patrol, the
California Technology Agency, and the proposed alternate public
safety answering point, in consultation with the wireless industry,
providers of "911" selective routing service, and local law
enforcement officials, determine that it is in the best interest of
the public and will provide more effective emergency service to the
public to route "911" calls that do not originate from a freeway, as
defined in Section 23.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, under the
jurisdiction of the Department of the California Highway Patrol to
another public safety answering point.
2892.1. (a) For purposes of this section, "telecommunications
service" means voice communication provided by a telephone
corporation as defined in Section 234, voice communication provided
by a provider of satellite telephone services, voice communication
provided by a provider of mobile telephony service, as defined in
Section 2890.2, and voice communication provided by a commercially
available facilities-based provider of voice communication services
utilizing voice over Internet Protocol or any successor protocol.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the California Emergency
Management Agency and the California Technology Agency, shall open an
investigative or other appropriate proceeding to identify the need
for telecommunications service systems not on the customer's premises
to have backup electricity to enable telecommunications networks to
function and to enable the customer to contact a public safety
answering point operator during an electrical outage, to determine
performance criteria for backup systems, and to determine whether the
best practices recommended by the Network Reliability and
Interoperability Council in December 2005, for backup systems have
been implemented by telecommunications service providers operating in
California. If the commission determines it is in the public
interest, the commission shall, consistent with subdivisions (c) and
(d), develop and implement performance reliability standards.
(c) The commission, in developing any standards pursuant to the
proceeding required by subdivision (b), shall consider current best
practices and technical feasibility for establishing battery backup
requirements.
(d) The commission shall not implement standards pursuant to the
proceeding required by subdivision (b) unless it determines that the
benefits of the standards exceed the costs.
(e) The commission shall determine the feasibility of the use of
zero greenhouse gas emission fuel cell systems to replace diesel
backup power systems.
(f) Before January 1, 2008, the commission shall prepare and
submit to the Legislature a report on the results of the proceeding.
2892.3. (a) The commission shall require providers of mobile
telephony service, as defined in Section 224.4, to report to the
commission, as specified by the commission, on activities associated
with customer fraud.
(b) Each report shall include a description of the types of fraud
occurring, the amount of revenues that have been uncollectible
because of fraud, and the actions undertaken by the mobile telephony
service provider to combat fraud.
(c) The commission shall require mobile telephony service
providers to provide their subscribers with a notice, to be reviewed
by the commission, warning subscribers about problems associated with
fraud, and informing them about ways to protect against fraud.
2892.5. (a) As used in this section "public safety agency" means a
"public safety agency" as defined in Section 53102 of the Government
Code.
(b) A provider of commercial mobile radio service, as defined in
Section 216.8, may enter into a contract with a public safety agency
to give the transmissions of public safety agency end users of that
service priority over the transmissions of other persons or entities.
The contract shall comply with applicable federal law.
2893. (a) The commission shall, by rule or order, require that
every telephone call identification service offered in this state by
a telephone corporation, or by any other person or corporation that
makes use of the facilities of a telephone corporation, shall allow a
caller to withhold display of the caller's telephone number, on an
individual basis, from the telephone instrument of the individual
receiving the telephone call placed by the caller. However a caller
shall not be allowed to withhold the display of the caller's business
telephone number when that number is being used for telemarketing
purposes.
(b) There shall be no charge to the caller who requests that his
or her telephone number be withheld from the recipient of any call
placed by the caller.
(c) The commission shall direct every telephone corporation to
notify its subscribers that their calls may be identified to a called
party either:
(1) Thirty or more days before the telephone corporation commences
to participate in the offering of a call identification service.
(2) By March 1, 1990, if the telephone corporation is
participating in a call identification service prior to January 1,
1990.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) An identification service which is used within the same
limited system, including, but not limited to, a Centrex or private
branch exchange (PBX) system, as the recipient telephone.
(2) An identification service which is used on a public agency's
emergency telephone line or on the line which receives the primary
emergency telephone number (911).
(3) Any identification service provided in connection with legally
sanctioned call tracing or tapping procedures.
(4) Any identification service provided in connection with any
"800" or "900" access code telephone service until the telephone
corporation develops the technical capability to comply with
subdivision (a), as determined by the commission.
(e) Until the market for local telephone service is competitive, a
telephone corporation shall not charge any subscriber for having an
unlisted or unpublished telephone number. However, nothing in this
subdivision shall be interpreted by the commission to reduce the
revenues of telephone corporations. Any actions of the commission
pursuant to this subdivision shall be implemented on a competitively
neutral basis. This charge shall not be eliminated prior to the
effective date upon which offsetting rates are implemented by the
commission.
2894. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 2891, the
disclosure of any information by an interexchange telephone
corporation, a local exchange telephone corporation, or a provider of
commercial mobile radio service, as defined in Section 216.8, in
good faith compliance with the terms of a state or federal court
warrant or order or administrative subpoena issued at the request of
a law enforcement official or other federal, state, or local
governmental agency for law enforcement purposes, is a complete
defense against any civil action brought under this chapter or any
other law, including, but not limited to, Chapter 1.5 (commencing
with Section 630) of Part 1 of Title 15 of the Penal Code, for the
wrongful disclosure of that information.
(b) As used in this section the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) "Interexchange telephone corporation" means a telephone
corporation that is a long-distance carrier.
(2) "Local exchange telephone corporation" means a telephone
corporation that provides local exchange services.
2894.10. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a number of
federal and state laws have been enacted to protect residential
telephone subscribers' privacy rights with respect to telephone
solicitations. Various governmental agencies publish information that
generally describes telephone subscribers' rights under these laws.
Examples of publications include the Federal Trade Commission's
brochure, "Straight Talk About Telemarketing," and the Federal
Communications Commission's publication, "Consumer News, What You Can
Do About Unsolicited Telephone Marketing Calls and Faxes." The
Legislature intends that telephone subscribers be provided with
information regarding their privacy rights, under state and federal
law, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(b) Every local exchange telephone corporation shall provide its
residential customers with information regarding state and federal
laws that protect the privacy rights of residential telephone
subscribers with respect to telephone solicitations by providing on
an annual basis one or more of the following items of information in
the billing statement of each residential customer and in conspicuous
notices in the consumer information pages of the local telephone
directories distributed by that telephone corporation:
(1) A copy of a publication prepared by the Department of Consumer
Affairs, the Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Trade
Commission, or any other federal or state governmental agency that
generally describes telephone subscribers' privacy rights, under
state and federal laws, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(2) A list of the titles of the publications identified in
paragraph (1) and information on how to obtain those publications.
(c) A provider of local exchange service shall not be subject to
any penalties if the provider makes a good faith effort to provide or
identify the publications described in subdivision (b).
2891. (a) No telephone or telegraph corporation shall make
available to any other person or corporation, without first obtaining
the residential subscriber's consent, in writing, any of the
following information:
(1) The subscriber's personal calling patterns, including any
listing of the telephone or other access numbers called by the
subscriber, but excluding the identification to the person called of
the person calling and the telephone number from which the call was
placed, subject to the restrictions in Section 2893, and also
excluding billing information concerning the person calling which
federal law or regulation requires a telephone corporation to provide
to the person called.
(2) The residential subscriber's credit or other personal
financial information, except when the corporation is ordered by the
commission to provide this information to any electrical, gas, heat,
telephone, telegraph, or water corporation, or centralized credit
check system, for the purpose of determining the creditworthiness of
new utility subscribers.
(3) The services which the residential subscriber purchases from
the corporation or from independent suppliers of information services
who use the corporation's telephone or telegraph line to provide
service to the residential subscriber.
(4) Demographic information about individual residential
subscribers, or aggregate information from which individual
identities and characteristics have not been removed.
(b) Any residential subscriber who gives his or her written
consent for the release of one or more of the categories of personal
information specified in subdivision (a) shall be informed by the
telephone or telegraph corporation regarding the identity of each
person or corporation to whom the information has been released, upon
written request. The corporation shall notify every residential
subscriber of the provisions of this subdivision whenever consent is
requested pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) Any residential subscriber who has, pursuant to subdivision
(b), given written consent for the release of one or more of the
categories of personal information specified in subdivision (a) may
rescind this consent upon submission of a written notice to the
telephone or telegraph corporation. The corporation shall cease to
make available any personal information about the subscriber, within
30 days following receipt of notice given pursuant to this
subdivision.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Information provided by residential subscribers for inclusion
in the corporation's directory of subscribers.
(2) Information customarily provided by the corporation through
directory assistance services.
(3) Postal ZIP Code information.
(4) Information provided under supervision of the commission to a
collection agency by the telephone corporation exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(5) Information provided to an emergency service agency responding
to a 911 telephone call or any other call communicating an imminent
threat to life or property.
(6) Information provided to a law enforcement agency in response
to lawful process.
(7) Information which is required by the commission pursuant to
its jurisdiction and control over telephone and telegraph
corporations.
(8) Information transmitted between telephone or telegraph
corporations pursuant to the furnishing of telephone service between
or within service areas.
(9) Information required to be provided by the corporation
pursuant to rules and orders of the commission or the Federal
Communications Commission regarding the provision over telephone
lines by parties other than the telephone and telegraph corporations
of telephone or information services.
(10) The name and address of the lifeline customers of a telephone
corporation provided by that telephone corporation to a public
utility for the sole purpose of low-income ratepayer assistance
outreach efforts. The telephone corporation receiving the information
request pursuant to this paragraph may charge the requesting utility
for the cost of the search and release of the requested information.
The commission, in its annual low-income ratepayer assistance
report, shall assess whether this information has been helpful in the
low-income ratepayer assistance outreach efforts.
(11) Information provided in response to a request pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 530.8 of the Penal Code.
(e) Every violation is a grounds for a civil suit by the aggrieved
residential subscriber against the telephone or telegraph
corporation and its employees responsible for the violation.
(f) For purposes of this section, "access number" means a telex,
teletex, facsimile, computer modem, or any other code which is used
by a residential subscriber of a telephone or telegraph corporation
to direct a communication to another subscriber of the same or
another telephone or telegraph corporation.
2891.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a telephone corporation
selling or licensing lists of residential subscribers shall not
include the telephone number of any subscriber assigned an unlisted
or unpublished access number. A subscriber may waive all or part of
the protection provided by this subdivision through written notice to
the telephone corporation.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a provider of mobile telephony
services, or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a provider,
providing the name and dialing number of a subscriber for inclusion
in any directory of any form, or selling the contents of any
directory database, or any portion or segment thereof, shall not
include the dialing number of any subscriber without first obtaining
the express consent of that subscriber. The express consent shall
meet all of the following requirements:
(1) It shall be one of the following:
(A) A separate document that is signed and dated by the
subscriber, and that is not attached to any other document.
(B) An affirmative response made on a separate field on an
Internet Web site where there is no default. The provider of mobile
telephony services shall send a confirmation notice to the subscriber'
s electronic mail address, or to a subscriber's postal mail address
if the subscriber does not have an electronic mail account.
(2) It shall be unambiguous, legible, and conspicuously disclose
that, by opting in, the subscriber is consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers and the subscriber's dialing number may be included in a
publicly available directory.
(3) If, under the subscriber's calling plan, the subscriber may be
billed for receiving unsolicited calls or text messaging from a
telemarketer, the provider's form shall include an unambiguous and
legible disclosure statement that, by consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers or included in a publicly available directory, the
subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited
calls or text messages.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a subscriber of mobile
telephony services from voluntarily entering into an agreement for
the placement of his or her name and mobile telephony dialing number
in any advertising program if the agreement satisfies the express
consent requirements of this section.
(d) A subscriber who provides express prior consent pursuant to
subdivision (b) may revoke that consent at any time. A provider of
mobile telephony services shall comply with the subscriber's request
to opt out within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60 days.
(e) A subscriber shall not be charged for making the choice to not
have their name and mobile telephony dialing number be listed in a
publicly available directory assistance database.
(f) This section does not apply to the provision of telephone
numbers to the following parties for the purposes indicated:
(1) To a collection agency, to the extent disclosures made by the
agency are supervised by the commission, exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(2) (A) To any law enforcement agency, fire protection agency,
public health agency, public environmental health agency, city or
county emergency services planning agency, or private for-profit
agency operating under contract with, and at the direction of, one or
more of these agencies, for the exclusive purpose of responding to a
911 call or communicating an imminent threat to life or property.
(B) Any information or records provided to a private for-profit
agency pursuant to this subdivision shall be held in confidence by
that agency and by any individual employed by or associated with that
agency. This information or these records shall not be open to
examination for any purpose not directly connected with the
administration of the services specified in subdivision (e) of
Section 2872 or this paragraph.
(3) To a lawful process issued under state or federal law.
(4) To a telephone corporation providing service between service
areas for the provision to the subscriber of telephone service
between service areas, or to third parties for the limited purpose of
providing billing services.
(5) To a telephone corporation to effectuate a customer's request
to transfer the customer's assigned telephone number from the
customer's existing provider of telecommunications services to a new
provider of telecommunications services.
(6) To the commission pursuant to its jurisdiction and control
over telephone and telegraph corporations.
(g) Every deliberate violation of this section is grounds for a
civil suit by the aggrieved subscriber against the organization or
corporation and its employees responsible for the violation.
(h) For purposes of this section, "unpublished or unlisted access
number" means a telephone, telex, teletex, facsimile, computer modem,
or any other code number that is assigned to a subscriber by a
telephone or telegraph corporation for the receipt of communications
initiated by other telephone or telegraph customers and that the
subscriber has requested that the telephone or telegraph corporation
keep in confidence.
(i) No telephone corporation, nor any official or employee
thereof, shall be subject to criminal or civil liability for the
release of customer information as authorized by this section.
2891.2. Telephone subscribers shall be annually notified that use
of an "800" or "900" telephone number may result in the disclosure of
the subscriber's telephone number to the called party. The
commission shall, by rule or order, impose the responsibility for the
notification with the telephone corporation that offers the caller
identification service, often known as automatic number
identification, in connection with an "800" or "900" service.
2892. (a) A provider of commercial mobile radio service, as defined
in Section 216.8, shall provide access for end users of that service
to the local emergency telephone systems described in the
Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6 (commencing with
Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the
Government Code). "911" shall be the primary access number for those
emergency systems. A provider of commercial mobile radio service, in
accordance with all applicable Federal Communication Commission
orders, shall transmit all "911" calls from technologically
compatible commercial mobile radio service communication devices
without requiring user validation or any similar procedure. A
provider of commercial mobile radio service may not charge any
airtime, access, or similar usage charge for any "911" call placed
from a commercial mobile radio service telecommunications device to a
local emergency telephone system.
(b) A "911" call from a commercial mobile radio service
telecommunications device may be routed to a public safety answering
point other than the Department of the California Highway Patrol only
if the alternate routing meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The "911" call originates from a location other than from a
freeway, as defined in Section 23.5 of the Streets and Highways Code,
under the jurisdiction of the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.
(2) The alternate routing is economically and technologically
feasible.
(3) The alternate routing will benefit public safety and reduce
burdens on dispatchers for the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.
(4) The Department of the California Highway Patrol, the
California Technology Agency, and the proposed alternate public
safety answering point, in consultation with the wireless industry,
providers of "911" selective routing service, and local law
enforcement officials, determine that it is in the best interest of
the public and will provide more effective emergency service to the
public to route "911" calls that do not originate from a freeway, as
defined in Section 23.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, under the
jurisdiction of the Department of the California Highway Patrol to
another public safety answering point.
2892.1. (a) For purposes of this section, "telecommunications
service" means voice communication provided by a telephone
corporation as defined in Section 234, voice communication provided
by a provider of satellite telephone services, voice communication
provided by a provider of mobile telephony service, as defined in
Section 2890.2, and voice communication provided by a commercially
available facilities-based provider of voice communication services
utilizing voice over Internet Protocol or any successor protocol.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the California Emergency
Management Agency and the California Technology Agency, shall open an
investigative or other appropriate proceeding to identify the need
for telecommunications service systems not on the customer's premises
to have backup electricity to enable telecommunications networks to
function and to enable the customer to contact a public safety
answering point operator during an electrical outage, to determine
performance criteria for backup systems, and to determine whether the
best practices recommended by the Network Reliability and
Interoperability Council in December 2005, for backup systems have
been implemented by telecommunications service providers operating in
California. If the commission determines it is in the public
interest, the commission shall, consistent with subdivisions (c) and
(d), develop and implement performance reliability standards.
(c) The commission, in developing any standards pursuant to the
proceeding required by subdivision (b), shall consider current best
practices and technical feasibility for establishing battery backup
requirements.
(d) The commission shall not implement standards pursuant to the
proceeding required by subdivision (b) unless it determines that the
benefits of the standards exceed the costs.
(e) The commission shall determine the feasibility of the use of
zero greenhouse gas emission fuel cell systems to replace diesel
backup power systems.
(f) Before January 1, 2008, the commission shall prepare and
submit to the Legislature a report on the results of the proceeding.
2892.3. (a) The commission shall require providers of mobile
telephony service, as defined in Section 224.4, to report to the
commission, as specified by the commission, on activities associated
with customer fraud.
(b) Each report shall include a description of the types of fraud
occurring, the amount of revenues that have been uncollectible
because of fraud, and the actions undertaken by the mobile telephony
service provider to combat fraud.
(c) The commission shall require mobile telephony service
providers to provide their subscribers with a notice, to be reviewed
by the commission, warning subscribers about problems associated with
fraud, and informing them about ways to protect against fraud.
2892.5. (a) As used in this section "public safety agency" means a
"public safety agency" as defined in Section 53102 of the Government
Code.
(b) A provider of commercial mobile radio service, as defined in
Section 216.8, may enter into a contract with a public safety agency
to give the transmissions of public safety agency end users of that
service priority over the transmissions of other persons or entities.
The contract shall comply with applicable federal law.
2893. (a) The commission shall, by rule or order, require that
every telephone call identification service offered in this state by
a telephone corporation, or by any other person or corporation that
makes use of the facilities of a telephone corporation, shall allow a
caller to withhold display of the caller's telephone number, on an
individual basis, from the telephone instrument of the individual
receiving the telephone call placed by the caller. However a caller
shall not be allowed to withhold the display of the caller's business
telephone number when that number is being used for telemarketing
purposes.
(b) There shall be no charge to the caller who requests that his
or her telephone number be withheld from the recipient of any call
placed by the caller.
(c) The commission shall direct every telephone corporation to
notify its subscribers that their calls may be identified to a called
party either:
(1) Thirty or more days before the telephone corporation commences
to participate in the offering of a call identification service.
(2) By March 1, 1990, if the telephone corporation is
participating in a call identification service prior to January 1,
1990.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) An identification service which is used within the same
limited system, including, but not limited to, a Centrex or private
branch exchange (PBX) system, as the recipient telephone.
(2) An identification service which is used on a public agency's
emergency telephone line or on the line which receives the primary
emergency telephone number (911).
(3) Any identification service provided in connection with legally
sanctioned call tracing or tapping procedures.
(4) Any identification service provided in connection with any
"800" or "900" access code telephone service until the telephone
corporation develops the technical capability to comply with
subdivision (a), as determined by the commission.
(e) Until the market for local telephone service is competitive, a
telephone corporation shall not charge any subscriber for having an
unlisted or unpublished telephone number. However, nothing in this
subdivision shall be interpreted by the commission to reduce the
revenues of telephone corporations. Any actions of the commission
pursuant to this subdivision shall be implemented on a competitively
neutral basis. This charge shall not be eliminated prior to the
effective date upon which offsetting rates are implemented by the
commission.
2894. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 2891, the
disclosure of any information by an interexchange telephone
corporation, a local exchange telephone corporation, or a provider of
commercial mobile radio service, as defined in Section 216.8, in
good faith compliance with the terms of a state or federal court
warrant or order or administrative subpoena issued at the request of
a law enforcement official or other federal, state, or local
governmental agency for law enforcement purposes, is a complete
defense against any civil action brought under this chapter or any
other law, including, but not limited to, Chapter 1.5 (commencing
with Section 630) of Part 1 of Title 15 of the Penal Code, for the
wrongful disclosure of that information.
(b) As used in this section the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) "Interexchange telephone corporation" means a telephone
corporation that is a long-distance carrier.
(2) "Local exchange telephone corporation" means a telephone
corporation that provides local exchange services.
2894.10. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a number of
federal and state laws have been enacted to protect residential
telephone subscribers' privacy rights with respect to telephone
solicitations. Various governmental agencies publish information that
generally describes telephone subscribers' rights under these laws.
Examples of publications include the Federal Trade Commission's
brochure, "Straight Talk About Telemarketing," and the Federal
Communications Commission's publication, "Consumer News, What You Can
Do About Unsolicited Telephone Marketing Calls and Faxes." The
Legislature intends that telephone subscribers be provided with
information regarding their privacy rights, under state and federal
law, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(b) Every local exchange telephone corporation shall provide its
residential customers with information regarding state and federal
laws that protect the privacy rights of residential telephone
subscribers with respect to telephone solicitations by providing on
an annual basis one or more of the following items of information in
the billing statement of each residential customer and in conspicuous
notices in the consumer information pages of the local telephone
directories distributed by that telephone corporation:
(1) A copy of a publication prepared by the Department of Consumer
Affairs, the Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Trade
Commission, or any other federal or state governmental agency that
generally describes telephone subscribers' privacy rights, under
state and federal laws, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(2) A list of the titles of the publications identified in
paragraph (1) and information on how to obtain those publications.
(c) A provider of local exchange service shall not be subject to
any penalties if the provider makes a good faith effort to provide or
identify the publications described in subdivision (b).
2891. (a) No telephone or telegraph corporation shall make
available to any other person or corporation, without first obtaining
the residential subscriber's consent, in writing, any of the
following information:
(1) The subscriber's personal calling patterns, including any
listing of the telephone or other access numbers called by the
subscriber, but excluding the identification to the person called of
the person calling and the telephone number from which the call was
placed, subject to the restrictions in Section 2893, and also
excluding billing information concerning the person calling which
federal law or regulation requires a telephone corporation to provide
to the person called.
(2) The residential subscriber's credit or other personal
financial information, except when the corporation is ordered by the
commission to provide this information to any electrical, gas, heat,
telephone, telegraph, or water corporation, or centralized credit
check system, for the purpose of determining the creditworthiness of
new utility subscribers.
(3) The services which the residential subscriber purchases from
the corporation or from independent suppliers of information services
who use the corporation's telephone or telegraph line to provide
service to the residential subscriber.
(4) Demographic information about individual residential
subscribers, or aggregate information from which individual
identities and characteristics have not been removed.
(b) Any residential subscriber who gives his or her written
consent for the release of one or more of the categories of personal
information specified in subdivision (a) shall be informed by the
telephone or telegraph corporation regarding the identity of each
person or corporation to whom the information has been released, upon
written request. The corporation shall notify every residential
subscriber of the provisions of this subdivision whenever consent is
requested pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) Any residential subscriber who has, pursuant to subdivision
(b), given written consent for the release of one or more of the
categories of personal information specified in subdivision (a) may
rescind this consent upon submission of a written notice to the
telephone or telegraph corporation. The corporation shall cease to
make available any personal information about the subscriber, within
30 days following receipt of notice given pursuant to this
subdivision.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Information provided by residential subscribers for inclusion
in the corporation's directory of subscribers.
(2) Information customarily provided by the corporation through
directory assistance services.
(3) Postal ZIP Code information.
(4) Information provided under supervision of the commission to a
collection agency by the telephone corporation exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(5) Information provided to an emergency service agency responding
to a 911 telephone call or any other call communicating an imminent
threat to life or property.
(6) Information provided to a law enforcement agency in response
to lawful process.
(7) Information which is required by the commission pursuant to
its jurisdiction and control over telephone and telegraph
corporations.
(8) Information transmitted between telephone or telegraph
corporations pursuant to the furnishing of telephone service between
or within service areas.
(9) Information required to be provided by the corporation
pursuant to rules and orders of the commission or the Federal
Communications Commission regarding the provision over telephone
lines by parties other than the telephone and telegraph corporations
of telephone or information services.
(10) The name and address of the lifeline customers of a telephone
corporation provided by that telephone corporation to a public
utility for the sole purpose of low-income ratepayer assistance
outreach efforts. The telephone corporation receiving the information
request pursuant to this paragraph may charge the requesting utility
for the cost of the search and release of the requested information.
The commission, in its annual low-income ratepayer assistance
report, shall assess whether this information has been helpful in the
low-income ratepayer assistance outreach efforts.
(11) Information provided in response to a request pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 530.8 of the Penal Code.
(e) Every violation is a grounds for a civil suit by the aggrieved
residential subscriber against the telephone or telegraph
corporation and its employees responsible for the violation.
(f) For purposes of this section, "access number" means a telex,
teletex, facsimile, computer modem, or any other code which is used
by a residential subscriber of a telephone or telegraph corporation
to direct a communication to another subscriber of the same or
another telephone or telegraph corporation.
2891.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a telephone corporation
selling or licensing lists of residential subscribers shall not
include the telephone number of any subscriber assigned an unlisted
or unpublished access number. A subscriber may waive all or part of
the protection provided by this subdivision through written notice to
the telephone corporation.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a provider of mobile telephony
services, or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a provider,
providing the name and dialing number of a subscriber for inclusion
in any directory of any form, or selling the contents of any
directory database, or any portion or segment thereof, shall not
include the dialing number of any subscriber without first obtaining
the express consent of that subscriber. The express consent shall
meet all of the following requirements:
(1) It shall be one of the following:
(A) A separate document that is signed and dated by the
subscriber, and that is not attached to any other document.
(B) An affirmative response made on a separate field on an
Internet Web site where there is no default. The provider of mobile
telephony services shall send a confirmation notice to the subscriber'
s electronic mail address, or to a subscriber's postal mail address
if the subscriber does not have an electronic mail account.
(2) It shall be unambiguous, legible, and conspicuously disclose
that, by opting in, the subscriber is consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers and the subscriber's dialing number may be included in a
publicly available directory.
(3) If, under the subscriber's calling plan, the subscriber may be
billed for receiving unsolicited calls or text messaging from a
telemarketer, the provider's form shall include an unambiguous and
legible disclosure statement that, by consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers or included in a publicly available directory, the
subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited
calls or text messages.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a subscriber of mobile
telephony services from voluntarily entering into an agreement for
the placement of his or her name and mobile telephony dialing number
in any advertising program if the agreement satisfies the express
consent requirements of this section.
(d) A subscriber who provides express prior consent pursuant to
subdivision (b) may revoke that consent at any time. A provider of
mobile telephony services shall comply with the subscriber's request
to opt out within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60 days.
(e) A subscriber shall not be charged for making the choice to not
have their name and mobile telephony dialing number be listed in a
publicly available directory assistance database.
(f) This section does not apply to the provision of telephone
numbers to the following parties for the purposes indicated:
(1) To a collection agency, to the extent disclosures made by the
agency are supervised by the commission, exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(2) (A) To any law enforcement agency, fire protection agency,
public health agency, public environmental health agency, city or
county emergency services planning agency, or private for-profit
agency operating under contract with, and at the direction of, one or
more of these agencies, for the exclusive purpose of responding to a
911 call or communicating an imminent threat to life or property.
(B) Any information or records provided to a private for-profit
agency pursuant to this subdivision shall be held in confidence by
that agency and by any individual employed by or associated with that
agency. This information or these records shall not be open to
examination for any purpose not directly connected with the
administration of the services specified in subdivision (e) of
Section 2872 or this paragraph.
(3) To a lawful process issued under state or federal law.
(4) To a telephone corporation providing service between service
areas for the provision to the subscriber of telephone service
between service areas, or to third parties for the limited purpose of
providing billing services.
(5) To a telephone corporation to effectuate a customer's request
to transfer the customer's assigned telephone number from the
customer's existing provider of telecommunications services to a new
provider of telecommunications services.
(6) To the commission pursuant to its jurisdiction and control
over telephone and telegraph corporations.
(g) Every deliberate violation of this section is grounds for a
civil suit by the aggrieved subscriber against the organization or
corporation and its employees responsible for the violation.
(h) For purposes of this section, "unpublished or unlisted access
number" means a telephone, telex, teletex, facsimile, computer modem,
or any other code number that is assigned to a subscriber by a
telephone or telegraph corporation for the receipt of communications
initiated by other telephone or telegraph customers and that the
subscriber has requested that the telephone or telegraph corporation
keep in confidence.
(i) No telephone corporation, nor any official or employee
thereof, shall be subject to criminal or civil liability for the
release of customer information as authorized by this section.
2891.2. Telephone subscribers shall be annually notified that use
of an "800" or "900" telephone number may result in the disclosure of
the subscriber's telephone number to the called party. The
commission shall, by rule or order, impose the responsibility for the
notification with the telephone corporation that offers the caller
identification service, often known as automatic number
identification, in connection with an "800" or "900" service.
2892. (a) A provider of commercial mobile radio service, as defined
in Section 216.8, shall provide access for end users of that service
to the local emergency telephone systems described in the
Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6 (commencing with
Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the
Government Code). "911" shall be the primary access number for those
emergency systems. A provider of commercial mobile radio service, in
accordance with all applicable Federal Communication Commission
orders, shall transmit all "911" calls from technologically
compatible commercial mobile radio service communication devices
without requiring user validation or any similar procedure. A
provider of commercial mobile radio service may not charge any
airtime, access, or similar usage charge for any "911" call placed
from a commercial mobile radio service telecommunications device to a
local emergency telephone system.
(b) A "911" call from a commercial mobile radio service
telecommunications device may be routed to a public safety answering
point other than the Department of the California Highway Patrol only
if the alternate routing meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The "911" call originates from a location other than from a
freeway, as defined in Section 23.5 of the Streets and Highways Code,
under the jurisdiction of the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.
(2) The alternate routing is economically and technologically
feasible.
(3) The alternate routing will benefit public safety and reduce
burdens on dispatchers for the Department of the California Highway
Patrol.
(4) The Department of the California Highway Patrol, the
California Technology Agency, and the proposed alternate public
safety answering point, in consultation with the wireless industry,
providers of "911" selective routing service, and local law
enforcement officials, determine that it is in the best interest of
the public and will provide more effective emergency service to the
public to route "911" calls that do not originate from a freeway, as
defined in Section 23.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, under the
jurisdiction of the Department of the California Highway Patrol to
another public safety answering point.
2892.1. (a) For purposes of this section, "telecommunications
service" means voice communication provided by a telephone
corporation as defined in Section 234, voice communication provided
by a provider of satellite telephone services, voice communication
provided by a provider of mobile telephony service, as defined in
Section 2890.2, and voice communication provided by a commercially
available facilities-based provider of voice communication services
utilizing voice over Internet Protocol or any successor protocol.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the California Emergency
Management Agency and the California Technology Agency, shall open an
investigative or other appropriate proceeding to identify the need
for telecommunications service systems not on the customer's premises
to have backup electricity to enable telecommunications networks to
function and to enable the customer to contact a public safety
answering point operator during an electrical outage, to determine
performance criteria for backup systems, and to determine whether the
best practices recommended by the Network Reliability and
Interoperability Council in December 2005, for backup systems have
been implemented by telecommunications service providers operating in
California. If the commission determines it is in the public
interest, the commission shall, consistent with subdivisions (c) and
(d), develop and implement performance reliability standards.
(c) The commission, in developing any standards pursuant to the
proceeding required by subdivision (b), shall consider current best
practices and technical feasibility for establishing battery backup
requirements.
(d) The commission shall not implement standards pursuant to the
proceeding required by subdivision (b) unless it determines that the
benefits of the standards exceed the costs.
(e) The commission shall determine the feasibility of the use of
zero greenhouse gas emission fuel cell systems to replace diesel
backup power systems.
(f) Before January 1, 2008, the commission shall prepare and
submit to the Legislature a report on the results of the proceeding.
2892.3. (a) The commission shall require providers of mobile
telephony service, as defined in Section 224.4, to report to the
commission, as specified by the commission, on activities associated
with customer fraud.
(b) Each report shall include a description of the types of fraud
occurring, the amount of revenues that have been uncollectible
because of fraud, and the actions undertaken by the mobile telephony
service provider to combat fraud.
(c) The commission shall require mobile telephony service
providers to provide their subscribers with a notice, to be reviewed
by the commission, warning subscribers about problems associated with
fraud, and informing them about ways to protect against fraud.
2892.5. (a) As used in this section "public safety agency" means a
"public safety agency" as defined in Section 53102 of the Government
Code.
(b) A provider of commercial mobile radio service, as defined in
Section 216.8, may enter into a contract with a public safety agency
to give the transmissions of public safety agency end users of that
service priority over the transmissions of other persons or entities.
The contract shall comply with applicable federal law.
2893. (a) The commission shall, by rule or order, require that
every telephone call identification service offered in this state by
a telephone corporation, or by any other person or corporation that
makes use of the facilities of a telephone corporation, shall allow a
caller to withhold display of the caller's telephone number, on an
individual basis, from the telephone instrument of the individual
receiving the telephone call placed by the caller. However a caller
shall not be allowed to withhold the display of the caller's business
telephone number when that number is being used for telemarketing
purposes.
(b) There shall be no charge to the caller who requests that his
or her telephone number be withheld from the recipient of any call
placed by the caller.
(c) The commission shall direct every telephone corporation to
notify its subscribers that their calls may be identified to a called
party either:
(1) Thirty or more days before the telephone corporation commences
to participate in the offering of a call identification service.
(2) By March 1, 1990, if the telephone corporation is
participating in a call identification service prior to January 1,
1990.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) An identification service which is used within the same
limited system, including, but not limited to, a Centrex or private
branch exchange (PBX) system, as the recipient telephone.
(2) An identification service which is used on a public agency's
emergency telephone line or on the line which receives the primary
emergency telephone number (911).
(3) Any identification service provided in connection with legally
sanctioned call tracing or tapping procedures.
(4) Any identification service provided in connection with any
"800" or "900" access code telephone service until the telephone
corporation develops the technical capability to comply with
subdivision (a), as determined by the commission.
(e) Until the market for local telephone service is competitive, a
telephone corporation shall not charge any subscriber for having an
unlisted or unpublished telephone number. However, nothing in this
subdivision shall be interpreted by the commission to reduce the
revenues of telephone corporations. Any actions of the commission
pursuant to this subdivision shall be implemented on a competitively
neutral basis. This charge shall not be eliminated prior to the
effective date upon which offsetting rates are implemented by the
commission.
2894. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 2891, the
disclosure of any information by an interexchange telephone
corporation, a local exchange telephone corporation, or a provider of
commercial mobile radio service, as defined in Section 216.8, in
good faith compliance with the terms of a state or federal court
warrant or order or administrative subpoena issued at the request of
a law enforcement official or other federal, state, or local
governmental agency for law enforcement purposes, is a complete
defense against any civil action brought under this chapter or any
other law, including, but not limited to, Chapter 1.5 (commencing
with Section 630) of Part 1 of Title 15 of the Penal Code, for the
wrongful disclosure of that information.
(b) As used in this section the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) "Interexchange telephone corporation" means a telephone
corporation that is a long-distance carrier.
(2) "Local exchange telephone corporation" means a telephone
corporation that provides local exchange services.
2894.10. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a number of
federal and state laws have been enacted to protect residential
telephone subscribers' privacy rights with respect to telephone
solicitations. Various governmental agencies publish information that
generally describes telephone subscribers' rights under these laws.
Examples of publications include the Federal Trade Commission's
brochure, "Straight Talk About Telemarketing," and the Federal
Communications Commission's publication, "Consumer News, What You Can
Do About Unsolicited Telephone Marketing Calls and Faxes." The
Legislature intends that telephone subscribers be provided with
information regarding their privacy rights, under state and federal
law, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(b) Every local exchange telephone corporation shall provide its
residential customers with information regarding state and federal
laws that protect the privacy rights of residential telephone
subscribers with respect to telephone solicitations by providing on
an annual basis one or more of the following items of information in
the billing statement of each residential customer and in conspicuous
notices in the consumer information pages of the local telephone
directories distributed by that telephone corporation:
(1) A copy of a publication prepared by the Department of Consumer
Affairs, the Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Trade
Commission, or any other federal or state governmental agency that
generally describes telephone subscribers' privacy rights, under
state and federal laws, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(2) A list of the titles of the publications identified in
paragraph (1) and information on how to obtain those publications.
(c) A provider of local exchange service shall not be subject to
any penalties if the provider makes a good faith effort to provide or
identify the publications described in subdivision (b).
