Information that Your Telephone Company
Collects
Your local, long distance, and wireless
telephone companies, as well as your Voice over Internet
Provider (VoIP), collect information such as the numbers you
call and when you call them, as well as the particular services
you use, such as call forwarding or voice mail. These companies
collect this customer information, also called Customer
Proprietary Network Information (CPNI), so they can provide the
services you have requested and send you bills for them.
Protecting Your Customer Information
Both Congress and the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) impose requirements on telephone
companies and VoIP providers about how they can use this
personal information and what they must do to protect it from
disclosure. Both Congress and the FCC have strengthened their
rules to combat a practice known as “pretexting,” or posing as
the actual customer or a law enforcement official to obtain
telephone calling records. In some cases, data brokers offer
calling records for sale on the Internet. Congress has passed a
law making it a crime punishable by fine or imprisonment of up
to 10 years to obtain calling records from a telephone company
or VoIP provider by: making false or fraudulent statements,
providing fraudulent documents, or accessing customer records
without prior authorization through the Internet or fraudulent
computer-related activities. The law also prohibits the
unauthorized sale or transfer of confidential phone records or
the purchase or receipt of such information with knowledge that
it was obtained fraudulently or without authorization.
Both a law passed by Congress and FCC rules
impose a general duty on telephone companies and VoIP providers to
protect the confidentiality of your customer information.
Telephone companies and VoIP providers may use, disclose, or
permit access to your customer information in these circumstances:
(1) as required by law; (2) with your approval; and (3) in
providing the service from which the customer information is
derived.
Disclosing Your Customer Information At
Your Request
The FCC prohibits your telephone company or
VoIP provider from releasing your customer information to you
when you call the company except when you provide a password. If
you do not provide a password, your telephone company or VoIP
provider may not release your customer information to you except
by sending it to your address of record or calling you at your
telephone number of record. Your telephone or VoIP company must
provide password protection for your on-line account. If you
come in person with valid identification to a company store or
office, your company can provide you all your customer
information. Your company must notify you immediately when it
creates or changes a password, a back-up for a forgotten
password, an on-line account, or an address of record. Finally,
your company must disclose your customer information to any
person you designate if you make your request in writing.
Using Your Customer Information for
Marketing
Your telephone company or VoIP provider may
use your customer information, without your approval, to market
enhancements to services you already use. For example, if you
purchase basic local telephone service from a telephone company,
it does not need your approval to use your customer information
to try to sell you voice mail or caller ID service.
If your telephone company or VoIP provider
uses your customer information for other marketing, it must obtain
your approval to do so. The company may request your approval
orally, in writing, or electronically. The request must contain
specific disclosures about how your company will use your customer
information. The company can request your approval using one of
two methods:
1) “Opt-Out” – Your company sends
you a notice saying it will consider you to have given your
approval to use your customer information for marketing unless
you tell it not to do so (usually within 30 days.)
2) “Opt-In” – Your company sends you
a notice asking that you expressly give it permission to use
your customer information for marketing.
Your telephone company or VoIP provider must
obtain your “opt-out” or “opt-in” approval before it can share
your customer information within the company to sell you
communications-related services you don’t already purchase; for
example, to sell you long distance service if you only subscribe
to local service. Your company must obtain your “opt-in” approval
to disclose your customer information for marketing purposes to
joint venture partners and independent contractors. If your
telephone company or VoIP provider discloses your customer
information to joint venture partners or independent contractors,
it must enter into agreements with them to keep your customer
information confidential.
Additional Requirements
The FCC requires your telephone company or
VoIP provider to report to you and law enforcement officials
such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation if your customer
information is disclosed without your permission. Your company
must take reasonable measures to discover and protect against
pretexting. It must also keep accurate records of all instances
where it disclosed your customer infomation to third parties,
and whether or not you have provided approval to use your
customer information for marketing. Marketing campaigns using
customer information must be carefully reviewed within the
company. Employees must be trained in the appropriate use of
customer information. Finally, telephone companies and VoIP
providers must submit to the FCC annual certification proving
that they are abiding by these rules, including an explanation
of any actions taken against data brokers and a summary of all
consumer complaints received regarding unauthorized release of
customer information.
How to Help Prevent Unauthorized
Disclosure of Your Customer Information
-
Ask your telephone company or VoIP
provider to provide information about what it does to protect
the confidentiality of your customer information.
-
Read your telephone bill and any other
notices you receive from your company carefully. Determine if
your company is seeking opt-in or opt-out permission to use or
share your customer information for marketing.
-
Make your choice about sharing your
customer information clear to your telephone company or VoIP
provider. The choice you make about how your customer
information is used and shared is valid until you inform your
company that your choice has changed.
-
If you use a password when contacting
your telephone company or VoIP provider to obtain your
customer information, avoid using any sensitive or readily
apparent information, such as your social security number.
Remember: Customer information rules
apply to all telephone companies: local, long distance, wireless
and VoIP. Make your customer information choices known to each
company.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you suspect that your customer information
has been disclosed without your permission or otherwise
unlawfully, immediately contact your telephone company or VoIP
provider to inform it of your concern. You can also file a
complaint with the FCC. There is no charge for filing a complaint.
You can file your complaint using an on-line complaint form found
at
esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. You can also file your
complaint with the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing
fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling
1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:
Federal Communications
Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554.
What to Include in Your Complaint
The best way to provide all the information
the FCC needs to process your complaint is to complete fully the
on-line complaint form. When you open the on-line complaint
form, you will be asked a series of questions that will take you
to the particular section of the form you need to complete. If
you do not use the on-line complaint form, your complaint, at a
minimum, should indicate:
-
your name, address, e-mail address, and
phone number where you can be reached;
-
the telephone and account numbers that are
the subject of your complaint;
-
the names and phone numbers of any
companies involved with your complaint; and
-
the details of your complaint and any
additional relevant information.
For More Information
For information about other telecommunications
issues, visit the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at
www.fcc.gov/cgb, or contact the FCC’s Consumer Center using
the information provided for filing a complaint.
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