Telephone message services - 66 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2905

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     § 2905.  Telephone message services.
        (a)  Notice.--Any telephone message service that provides a
     commercial, informational, public service or other message for a
     specific charge billed to the caller by a local phone company,
     prior to the presentation of the message, shall warn the caller
     that the cost of the call will be charged and that the charge
     will be itemized on the caller's telephone bill. In the event
     the message requested contains explicit sexual material, the
     warning preceding the message shall also inform the caller the
     message contains explicit sexual material.
        (b)  Intrastate services.--Before any call can be completed
     to any telephone message service containing explicit sexual
     material, the caller shall have first obtained an access code
     number or other personal identification number consisting of not
     less than nine digits from the telephone message service through
     written application to the telephone message service. This
     access code number or personal identification number must be
     presented to the telephone message service after the warning
     message and in order to complete the call.
        (c)  Dissemination to minors.--Access codes or personal
     identification numbers obtained to complete calls containing
     explicit sexual material as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903
     (relating to obscene and other sexual materials) shall not be
     issued to a minor. Telephone message services shall exercise all
     reasonable methods to ascertain that the applicant is not a
     minor.
        (d)  Telephone company duties.--Every local telephone company
     and competitive interexchange telephone service shall list all
     telephone message service calls on the customer telephone bill
     and shall designate the type or title of message obtained. In
     addition, the telephone company shall provide, upon request, at
     no cost to the consumer, the name and address of any telephone
     service provider. All telephone companies shall include in their
     telephone message service tariffs, whether provided through the
     976 exchange or otherwise, or in any contract with such
     telephone message service sponsor, a clause requiring compliance
     with this section as a condition for continuation of the
     service.
        (e)  Costs of service.--
            (1)  All costs relating to this section shall be borne
        solely by the telephone message service.
            (2)  All telephone message services shall provide, in
        writing, to all telephone companies and competitive
        interexchange telephone companies providing service in this
        Commonwealth, their complete telephone number or numbers,
        including area codes and type or title of service provided.
        This information shall be provided at the time of newly
        established service, change in service and annually.
        (f)  Blocking access.--Every telephone company shall, except
     to the extent that written authorization is required by a
     customer for availability of access to all or certain types of
     telephone message services, provide to customers the option of
     having access to such telephone message services blocked. The
     telephone company may not charge the customer any fee or other
     cost for blocking access to availability of telephone message
     services unless such telephone company has already provided such
     blocking to the customer without fee.
        (g)  Enforcement.--
            (1)  The commission shall promulgate rules or regulations
        to ensure the compliance of telephone companies providing
        messages covered by this section.
            (2)  The failure of a telephone company to comply with
        this section shall be a violation of this section and the
        telephone company shall be subject to enforcement proceedings
        pursuant to section 502 (relating to enforcement proceedings
        by commission).
            (3)  Failure of a telephone message service to comply
        with this section shall be a violation of the act of December
        17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade
        Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39
        (relating to theft and related offenses).
     (Mar. 30, 1988, P.L.301, No.37, eff. 60 days)

        1988 Amendment.  Act 37 added section 2905.

Last modified: November 27, 2007