BILL REQ. #:  H-5074.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/01/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to disclosure of wireless numbers; amending RCW 19.250.010; adding new sections to chapter 19.250 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by Article I, section 7 of the state Constitution. The legislature also finds that, in the vast majority of cases, subscribers pay for both incoming and outgoing calls, and that subscribers purchase cell phone service with an expectation that their numbers will not be made public. Therefore, the legislature recognizes that a subscriber's cell phone number should be kept private, unless that subscriber knowingly provides their express, opt-in consent to have that number made available in a public directory.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Radio communications service company" has the same meaning as in RCW 80.04.010.
     (2) "Subscriber" means a person who subscribes to radio communications services, radio paging, or cellular communications service.

Sec. 3   RCW 19.250.010 and 2005 c 322 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A radio communications service company((, as defined in RCW 80.04.010,)) or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a ((provider)) radio communications service company, or any person in the business of marketing, selling, and sharing the phone number of any subscriber for commercial purposes, shall not include the phone number of any subscriber for inclusion in any directory of any form, nor shall it sell the contents of any directory database, without first obtaining the express, opt-in consent of that subscriber. The subscriber's consent must be obtained either in writing or electronically, and a receipt must be provided to the subscriber. The consent shall be a separate document or located on a separate screen or web page that has the sole purpose of authorizing a radio communications service company, person, or direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a radio communications service company to include the subscriber's phone number in a publicly available directory assistance database. In obtaining the subscriber's consent, the ((provider)) radio communications service company, person, or direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a radio communications service company shall unambiguously disclose that, by consenting, the subscriber agrees to have the subscriber's phone number sold or licensed as part of a list of subscribers and that the phone number may be included in a publicly available directory assistance database. The ((provider)) radio communications service company, person, or direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a radio communications service company must also disclose that by consenting to be included in the directory, the subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited calls or text messages. The radio communications service company, person, or direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a radio communications service company also must disclose to the subscriber that the subscriber's express, opt-in consent will be construed as consent for the subsequent publication of the phone number to and by third parties in other directories or databases.
     (2) A subscriber who provides express, opt-in consent pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may opt out or revoke that consent at any time. A radio communications service company, person, or direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a radio communications service company shall comply with the subscriber's request to opt out within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed sixty days for printed directories and not to exceed thirty days for online directories.
     (3) A subscriber shall not be charged for opting not to be listed in the directory.
     (4) This section does not apply to the provision of telephone numbers, for the purposes indicated, to:
     (a) 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 corporation 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. Information or records provided to a private for-profit corporation pursuant to (b) of this subsection shall be held in confidence by that corporation and by any individual employed by or associated with that corporation. Such information or records shall not be open to examination for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of the services specified in this subsection;
     (b) A lawful process issued under state or federal law;
     (c) A telecommunications company providing service between service areas for the provision of telephone services to the subscriber between service areas, or to third parties for the limited purpose of providing billing services;
     (d) A telecommunications company 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;
     (e) The utilities and transportation commission pursuant to its jurisdiction and control over telecommunications companies; ((and))
     (f) A sales agent to provide the subscriber's ((cell)) phone number((s)) to the ((cellular provider)) radio communications service company for the limited purpose of billing and customer service;
     (g) A person that publishes a subscriber's phone number in a directory that is obtained directly from a radio communications service company and that radio communications service company has obtained the required express, opt-in consent for including in any directory the subscriber's phone number as specified in RCW 19.250.010(1);
     (h) A person that publishes a subscriber's phone number in a directory, at the subscriber's request, where the subscriber pays a fee to have the number published for commercial purposes; and
     (i) A person that publishes a subscriber's phone number that was ported from listed wireline service to wireless service within the previous fifteen months.
     (5) Every knowing violation of this section is punishable by a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars for each violation.
     (6) The attorney general may bring actions to enforce compliance with this section. For the first violation by any company or organization of this section, the attorney general may notify the company with a letter of warning that the section has been violated.
     (7) No telecommunications company, nor any official or employee of a telecommunications company, shall be subject to criminal or civil liability for the release of customer information as authorized by this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A radio communications service company, or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a radio communications service company, or any person in the business of marketing, selling, and sharing the phone number of any subscriber for commercial purposes, who has maintained a directory before the effective date of this section, must within thirty days either:
     (a) Secure the express, opt-in consent of each subscriber listed in the directory as specified in RCW 19.250.010; or
     (b) Remove the phone numbers of any subscribers who have not provided their express, opt-in consent.
     (2) This section does not apply to the following:
     (a) A person that publishes a subscriber's phone number in a directory that is obtained directly from a radio communications service company and that radio communications service company has obtained the required express, opt-in consent for including in any directory the subscriber's phone number as specified in RCW 19.250.010(1);
     (b) A person that publishes a subscriber's phone number in a directory where the subscriber pays a fee to have the number published for commercial purposes; and
     (c) A person that publishes a subscriber's phone number that was ported from listed wireline service to wireless service within the previous fifteen months. A subscriber whose phone number was ported from listed wireline service to wireless service can utilize the opt-out provisions set forth in RCW 19.250.010.