Background
In today’s environment where numerous entities collect and
store personal information, consumers are increasingly wary
about their privacy. You want to be secure in the knowledge
that your personal information is secure. The FCC has several
regulatory programs in place to protect your privacy.
Protecting You From Unwanted Telemarketing
Calls and Faxes
The FCC has adopted rules to limit the
number and type of uninvited calls coming into your home. The
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts unsolicited
telemarketing calls to your home and unsolicited commercial
faxes coming to your home or business.
Under the TCPA, the FCC, along with the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), established the national
Do-Not-Call list. Placing your home or personal wireless number on
the list prohibits telemarketers from calling, unless they have an
established business relationship with you, you have given them
your prior express permission to call, or they are exempt from the
rules. To register a number, go to
www.donotcall.gov.
The TCPA and FCC rules also severely limit
the use of autodialers and pre-recorded messages.
The Communications Act prohibits commercial
advertising faxes from being sent to you, unless you have an
established business relationship with the fax sender or have
given your prior express permission. Senders of fax advertisements
must include a notice and contact information on the first page of
the fax, telling you how to “opt-out” of any future fax
advertisements.
While the FCC cannot award monetary or other
damages to consumers, filing complaints allows the FCC to
investigate violators. Additionally, some states allow you to file
suits against telemarketers and faxers and be awarded money
damages for violations of these rules.
To find out more about FCC rules protecting
you from unwanted calls and faxes, see the FCC’s consumer fact
sheets at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html, and
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/unwantedfaxes.html.
Protecting Your Caller ID Privacy
The FCC’s caller ID rules require telephone
companies to make available, at no cost to you, simple and uniform
per-line blocking and unblocking processes that prevent your
telephone number from being transmitted to parties you call that
subscribe to caller ID service. These processes give you the
choice of showing or blocking your telephone number for any
interstate (between states) calls you make.
FCC rules require telemarketers to display on
caller ID either their phone numbers and, if possible, their
names, or the phone number and, if possible, the name of the
company for which they are selling products. The display must
include a phone number that you can call during regular business
hours to ask that the company no longer call you. This rule also
applies even if the company making the call has an established
business relationship with you.
To find out more about the FCC’s caller ID
rules, see the FCC’s consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/callerid.html.
Protecting You From Unwanted Text Messages
on Your Wireless Devices
In 2003, Congress passed the “Controlling the
Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act.
The Act allowed the FCC to develop rules banning the sending of
unwanted commercial messages to wireless devices without your
express prior authorization. The FTC enforces rules controlling
most unwanted commercial e-mails sent to computers.
The FCC ban covers messages sent to wireless
phones and pagers, if the message uses an Internet address that
includes an Internet domain name (usually the part of the address
after the individual or electronic mailbox name and the “@”
symbol). The ban does not cover “transactional or relationship”
messages about an existing account or purchased product.
It also does not cover “short messages,”
generally sent from one mobile phone to another, that do not use
an Internet address, although the TCPA may ban such unsolicited
commercial messages if your personal wireless number is on the
Do-Not-Call list. The ban also does not cover e-mail messages
forwarded from your computer to your wireless device.
To enforce this ban, the FCC required
wireless service providers to submit all Internet domain names
used to transmit electronic messages to wireless devices. To see
this list, visit
www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/DomainNameDownload.html. Senders of
commercial messages must avoid sending them to domain names on the
list without the consumer’s authorization.
To find out more about the FCC’s rules on
wireless spam and for tips on reducing unwanted commercial
messages, see the FCC’s consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/canspam.html.
Protecting the Privacy of Your Telephone
Calling Records
Providers of telephone service, which include
local, long distance, and wireless phone companies, as well as
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, collect
customer 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. This information is often referred
to as Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI). Telephone
companies may use, disclose, or permit access to your customer
information only in the following circumstances: 1) as required by
law; 2) with your approval; or 3) in providing the service from
which the customer information was obtained.
Your telephone company may only release your
customer information to you upon request with certain protections,
such as a password if your request is by phone or on-line, or with
valid photo identification if your request is in person. Your
telephone 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. Your telephone company may use
your customer information, without your approval, to market
enhancements to services you already use. If your telephone
company uses your customer information for other marketing, it
must obtain your approval to do so.
Your company must keep accurate records
regarding disclosure of your customer information to third parties
and your approvals. Telephone companies must submit to the FCC an
annual certification attesting that they are abiding by these
rules, and a summary of all consumer complaints received regarding
unauthorized release of customer information.
To find out more about FCC rules protecting
your customer information, see the FCC’s consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/phoneaboutyou.html.
Cable Subscriber Privacy
If you subscribe to cable television service,
your cable provider collects information necessary to provide and
bill you for its services, such as your address, the services you
subscribe to, and any pay-per-view transactions. Your cable
provider is required to notify you when you begin service, and at
least once every year after you begin service, about any such
“personally identifiable” information that it will collect.
Your provider must tell you the scope,
frequency, and purpose of the information collected, how long it
will be kept, when and where you may have access to it, and any
limitations placed on the provider regarding collection and
disclosure of the information, as well as your rights to enforce
these limitations.
Your provider must also give you reasonable
opportunities to correct any errors in the information. Finally,
your provider may not disclose any of this information without
your written permission. If you are damaged by your cable
provider’s violation of any of these requirements, you may sue
your cable provider in federal court.
To find out more about FCC rules regarding
cable subscriber privacy, see the FCC’s consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/retention.html.
The Privacy Act
Sometimes, under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA), the FCC provides information on specific complaints
filed by consumers. Personal identifying information, such as your
name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number is deleted
from complaints released under FOIA to parties outside the FCC.
In addition, in processing a complaint, the
FCC may forward the complete complaint with personal identifying
information to your telecommunications provider for a response.
You may be contacted directly by the FCC or the provider regarding
your complaint.
To protect your privacy, you should not
include personal information, such as your social security number,
credit card numbers, pre-paid calling card numbers, bank or
checking account numbers, etc. with your complaint.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you’ve received an unwanted telemarketing
call, fax advertisement, or commercial message on your wireless
device or if you think your personal information has been
disclosed without your permission, you can 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, S.W.
Washington, DC 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 phone number where you received the
call, and whether this number is on the national Do-Not-Call
list;
-
the date and time of the call;
-
whether the call advertised or sold any
property, goods, or services;
-
any information (including a caller ID
number) to help identify the individual or company whose
property, goods, or services were being advertised or sold, and
whether any of this information was provided during the call;
-
whether you or anyone else in your
household gave the caller permission to call;
-
whether you have an EBR with the caller
(specifically, whether you or anyone else in your household made
any purchases of property, goods, or services from the
individual or company that called, or made any inquiry or filed
an application with the individual or company prior to receiving
the call); and
-
whether you or anyone in your household
previously asked the caller or individual or company whose
property, goods, or services are being advertised or sold NOT to
call, and when you made the request.
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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