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Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs - 47 USC Section 222
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US Lawyer > Telecom > Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs - 47 USC Section 222
01/19/04 Sec. 222. Privacy of customer information
(a) In general
Every telecommunications carrier has a duty to protect the
confidentiality of proprietary information of, and relating to,
other telecommunication carriers, equipment manufacturers, and
customers, including telecommunication carriers reselling
telecommunications services provided by a telecommunications
carrier.
(b) Confidentiality of carrier information
A telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains proprietary
information from another carrier for purposes of providing any
telecommunications service shall use such information only for such
purpose, and shall not use such information for its own marketing
efforts.
(c) Confidentiality of customer proprietary network information
(1) Privacy requirements for telecommunications carriers
Except as required by law or with the approval of the customer,
a telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains customer
proprietary network information by virtue of its provision of a
telecommunications service shall only use, disclose, or permit
access to individually identifiable customer proprietary network
information in its provision of (A) the telecommunications
service from which such information is derived, or (B) services
necessary to, or used in, the provision of such
telecommunications service, including the publishing of
directories.
(2) Disclosure on request by customers
A telecommunications carrier shall disclose customer
proprietary network information, upon affirmative written request
by the customer, to any person designated by the customer.
(3) Aggregate customer information
A telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains customer
proprietary network information by virtue of its provision of a
telecommunications service may use, disclose, or permit access to
aggregate customer information other than for the purposes
described in paragraph (1). A local exchange carrier may use,
disclose, or permit access to aggregate customer information
other than for purposes described in paragraph (1) only if it
provides such aggregate information to other carriers or persons
on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions upon
reasonable request therefor.
(d) Exceptions
Nothing in this section prohibits a telecommunications carrier
from using, disclosing, or permitting access to customer
proprietary network information obtained from its customers, either
directly or indirectly through its agents -
(1) to initiate, render, bill, and collect for
telecommunications services;
(2) to protect the rights or property of the carrier, or to
protect users of those services and other carriers from
fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of, or subscription to, such
services;
(3) to provide any inbound telemarketing, referral, or
administrative services to the customer for the duration of the
call, if such call was initiated by the customer and the customer
approves of the use of such information to provide such service;
and
(4) to provide call location information concerning the user of
a commercial mobile service (as such term is defined in section
332(d) of this title) -
(A) to a public safety answering point, emergency medical
service provider or emergency dispatch provider, public safety,
fire service, or law enforcement official, or hospital
emergency or trauma care facility, in order to respond to the
user's call for emergency services;
(B) to inform the user's legal guardian or members of the
user's immediate family of the user's location in an emergency
situation that involves the risk of death or serious physical
harm; or
(C) to providers of information or database management
services solely for purposes of assisting in the delivery of
emergency services in response to an emergency.
(e) Subscriber list information
Notwithstanding subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, a
telecommunications carrier that provides telephone exchange service
shall provide subscriber list information gathered in its capacity
as a provider of such service on a timely and unbundled basis,
under nondiscriminatory and reasonable rates, terms, and
conditions, to any person upon request for the purpose of
publishing directories in any format.
(f) Authority to use wireless location information
For purposes of subsection (c)(1) of this section, without the
express prior authorization of the customer, a customer shall not
be considered to have approved the use or disclosure of or access
to -
(1) call location information concerning the user of a
commercial mobile service (as such term is defined in section
332(d) of this title), other than in accordance with subsection
(d)(4) of this section; or
(2) automatic crash notification information to any person
other than for use in the operation of an automatic crash
notification system.
(g) Subscriber listed and unlisted information for emergency
services
Notwithstanding subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, a
telecommunications carrier that provides telephone exchange service
shall provide information described in subsection (i)(3)(A) (!1) of
this section (including information pertaining to subscribers whose
information is unlisted or unpublished) that is in its possession
or control (including information pertaining to subscribers of
other carriers) on a timely and unbundled basis, under
nondiscriminatory and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions to
providers of emergency services, and providers of emergency support
services, solely for purposes of delivering or assisting in the
delivery of emergency services.
(h) Definitions
As used in this section:
(1) Customer proprietary network information
The term "customer proprietary network information" means -
(A) information that relates to the quantity, technical
configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use
of a telecommunications service subscribed to by any customer
of a telecommunications carrier, and that is made available to
the carrier by the customer solely by virtue of the
carrier-customer relationship; and
(B) information contained in the bills pertaining to
telephone exchange service or telephone toll service received
by a customer of a carrier;
except that such term does not include subscriber list
information.
(2) Aggregate information
The term "aggregate customer information" means collective data
that relates to a group or category of services or customers,
from which individual customer identities and characteristics
have been removed.
(3) Subscriber list information
The term "subscriber list information" means any information -
(A) identifying the listed names of subscribers of a carrier
and such subscribers' telephone numbers, addresses, or primary
advertising classifications (as such classifications are
assigned at the time of the establishment of such service), or
any combination of such listed names, numbers, addresses, or
classifications; and
(B) that the carrier or an affiliate has published, caused to
be published, or accepted for publication in any directory
format.
(4) Public safety answering point
The term "public safety answering point" means a facility that
has been designated to receive emergency calls and route them to
emergency service personnel.
(5) Emergency services
The term "emergency services" means 9-1-1 emergency services
and emergency notification services.
(6) Emergency notification services
The term "emergency notification services" means services that
notify the public of an emergency.
(7) Emergency support services
The term "emergency support services" means information or data
base management services used in support of emergency services.
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 222, act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, Sec.
222, as added Mar. 6, 1943, ch. 10, Sec. 1, 57 Stat. 5; amended
July 12, 1960, Pub. L. 86-624, Sec. 36, 74 Stat. 421; Nov. 30,
1974, Pub. L. 93-506, Sec. 2, 88 Stat. 1577; Dec. 24, 1980, Pub. L.
96-590, 94 Stat. 3414; Dec. 29, 1981, Pub. L. 97-130, Sec. 2, 95
Stat. 1687, related to competition among record carriers, prior to
repeal by Pub. L. 103-414, title III, Sec. 304(a)(6), Oct. 25,
1994, 108 Stat. 4297.
AMENDMENTS
1999 - Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 106-81, Sec. 5(1), added par. (4).
Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 106-81, Sec. 5(2), added subsecs. (f)
and (g). Former subsec. (f) redesignated (h).
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 106-81, Sec. 5(2)-(4), redesignated subsec.
(f) as (h), inserted "location," after "destination," in par.
(1)(A), and added pars. (4) to (7).
Last modified: June 19, 2006
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