2SHB 2479 -
By Committee on Consumer Protection & Housing
ADOPTED 03/07/2008
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"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) "Directory provider" means any person in the business of
marketing, selling, or sharing the phone number of any subscriber for
commercial purposes.
(2) "Radio communications service company" has the same meaning as
in RCW 80.04.010.
(3) "Reverse phone number search services" means a service that
provides the name of a subscriber associated with a phone number when
the phone number is supplied.
(4) "Subscriber" means a person who resides in the state of
Washington and subscribes to radio communications services, radio
paging, or cellular communications service.
(5) "Wireless phone number" means a phone number unique to the
subscriber that permits the subscriber to receive radio communications,
radio paging, or cellular communications from others.
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 shall not include the
wireless 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 to include the subscriber's wireless
phone number in a publicly available directory assistance database.
(2) In obtaining the subscriber's consent, the ((provider)) radio
communications service company 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 following:
(a) That the subscriber's wireless phone number may be sold or
licensed as part of a list of subscribers and that the wireless phone
number may be included in a publicly available directory assistance
database((. The provider must also disclose that by consenting to be
included in the directory,));
(b) That the subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving
unsolicited calls or text messages; and
(c) That the subscriber's express, opt-in consent will be construed
as consent for the subsequent publication of the wireless phone number
to and by third parties in other directories or databases.
(((2) A subscriber who provides express consent pursuant to
subsection (1) of this section may revoke that consent at any time. 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.))
(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 numbers to
the cellular provider for the limited purpose of billing and customer
service.
(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 directory provider shall not include any phone number that
belongs to a Washington state resident in any directory of any form, or
sell the contents of any directory database, without first undertaking
a reasonable ongoing investigation as to whether the phone number is a
wireless phone number. An investigation under this section is presumed
reasonable if the directory provider compares the phone number at least
every thirty days against: (a) A commercially available list of
central office code assignment records offered through the North
American numbering plan administration or other similar service; or (b)
a commercially available list of intermodal ports of telephone numbers
between wireline-to-wireless ports and wireless-to-wireline ports. A
directory provider also has a duty to continually use up-to-date,
commercially available technology when conducting its investigation of
a phone number. If an investigation reveals that the phone number is
a wireless phone number, the directory provider shall not include the
number in any directory of any form, or sell the contents of any
directory database without first obtaining the subscriber's express,
opt-in consent. The subscriber's consent must be obtained either in
writing or electronically, and a receipt must be provided to the
subscriber. The consent must be a separate document or located on a
separate screen or web page that has the sole purpose of authorizing a
directory provider to include the subscriber's wireless phone number in
a publicly available directory assistance database.
(2) In obtaining the subscriber's consent, the directory provider
shall unambiguously disclose that, by consenting, the subscriber agrees
to the following:
(a) That the subscriber's wireless phone number may be sold or
licensed as part of a list of subscribers and that the wireless phone
number may be included in a publicly available directory assistance
database;
(b) That the subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving
unsolicited calls or text messages; and
(c) That the subscriber's express, opt-in consent will be construed
as consent for the subsequent publication of the wireless phone number
to and by third parties in other directories or databases.
(3) This section does not preclude a directory provider from
providing a reverse phone number search service. However, a subscriber
whose wireless phone number is contained in a reverse phone number
search service may utilize the opt-out provisions set forth in section
5 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A subscriber who provides express, opt-in consent under RCW
19.250.010 and section 4 of this act may revoke that consent at any
time. A radio communications service company and a directory provider
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.
(2) At the subscriber's request, a provider of a reverse phone
number search service must allow a subscriber to perform a reverse
phone number search free of charge to determine whether the
subscriber's wireless phone number is listed in the reverse phone
number search service. If the subscriber finds that his or her
wireless phone number is contained in the reverse phone number search
service, the subscriber may opt out of having his or her wireless phone
number included in the reverse phone number search service at any time.
The provider of the reverse phone number search service must comply
with the subscriber's request to opt out within a reasonable period of
time, not to exceed thirty days.
(3) A subscriber shall not be charged for opting out of having his
or her wireless phone number listed in a directory or reverse phone
number search service.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW
to read as follows:
The legislature finds that allowing a subscriber to opt out of a
reverse phone number search service vitally affects the public interest
for the purpose of applying chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of section
5 of this act by a provider of a reverse phone number search service is
not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of
business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an
unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying chapter 19.86
RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Every knowing violation of RCW 19.250.010 is punishable by a
fine of not less than two thousand dollars and no more than fifty
thousand dollars for each violation. Including a wireless phone number
in a directory without a subscriber's express, opt-in consent pursuant
to section 4 of this act is a violation of this chapter and is
punishable by a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars unless the
directory provider first conducted a reasonable investigation as
required in section 4 of this act and was unable to determine if the
published number was a wireless phone number.
(2) The attorney general may bring actions to enforce compliance
with this section. For the first violation by any company,
organization, or person under this chapter, the attorney general may
notify the company, organization, or person with a letter of warning
that this chapter has been violated.
(3) A telecommunications company or directory provider, or any
official or employee of a telecommunications company or directory
provider, is not subject to criminal or civil liability for the release
of customer information as authorized by this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A radio communications service company or a directory provider,
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 section 4 of this act;
or
(b) Remove the wireless 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 directory provider that has undertaken a reasonable
investigation pursuant to section 4 of this act and is unable to
determine whether the phone number is a wireless phone number;
(b) A directory provider that publishes a subscriber's wireless
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 wireless phone number as specified in
RCW 19.250.010;
(c) A person that publishes a subscriber's wireless phone number in
a directory where the subscriber pays a fee to have the number
published for commercial purposes; and
(d) A person that publishes a subscriber's wireless phone number
that was ported from listed wireline service to wireless service within
the previous fifteen months.
(3) This section does not preclude a directory provider from
providing a reverse phone number search service. However, a subscriber
whose wireless phone number is contained in a reverse phone number
search service may utilize the opt-out provisions set forth in section
5 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 A new section is added to chapter 19.250 RCW
to read as follows:
This chapter does not apply to the provision of wireless phone
numbers, for the purposes indicated, to:
(1) 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
subsection (2) of this section must be held in confidence by that
corporation and by any individual employed by or associated with that
corporation. Such information or records are not open to examination
for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of the
services specified in this subsection;
(2) A lawful process issued under state or federal law;
(3) 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;
(4) 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;
(5) The utilities and transportation commission pursuant to its
jurisdiction and control over telecommunications companies;
(6) A sales agent to provide the subscriber's wireless phone
numbers to the radio communications service company for the limited
purpose of billing and customer service;
(7) A directory provider that has undertaken a reasonable
investigation pursuant to section 4 of this act and is unable to
determine whether the phone number is a wireless phone number;
(8) A directory provider that publishes a subscriber's wireless
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 wireless phone number as specified in
RCW 19.250.010;
(9) A person that publishes a subscriber's wireless phone number in
a directory where the subscriber pays a fee to have the number
published for commercial purposes;
(10) A person that publishes a subscriber's wireless phone number
that was ported from listed wireline service to wireless service within
the previous fifteen months; and
(11) A consumer reporting agency as defined in RCW 19.182.010 for
use as a unique identifier of a consumer in a consumer report as
defined in RCW 19.182.010."
2SHB 2479 -
By Committee on Consumer Protection & Housing
ADOPTED 03/07/2008
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "numbers;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 19.250.010; adding new sections to chapter 19.250 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties."
EFFECT: Directory providers may not include a Washington
resident's phone number in a directory until the directory provider has
conducted a reasonable ongoing investigation into whether the number is
a wireless phone number.
An investigation is presumed reasonable if the directory provider
compares the phone number against a commercially available list of
wireless numbers or ported numbers at least every 30 days.
The directory provider has an obligation to use continually updated
technology that is used for the investigation.
A directory provider may only include a wireless number in a
directory if either: (1) The owner of the number has opted in; or (2)
the directory provider undertook a reasonable investigation and was
unable to determine whether the number was a wireless number.
Reverse search providers must allow a consumer a free search to
determine whether his or her wireless number is in their database and
consumers may opt out of appearing in a reverse search directory.
A violation of the reverse search provisions is a per se CPA
violation.
Clarifies that a directory provider may not be held civilly or
criminally liable for publishing a wireless number as authorized by
this act.
Adds definitions and terms for clarity.
Restructures the bill for clarity.