1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; enacting the 
  1.3             Telecommunications Consumer Privacy Act; providing for 
  1.4             the privacy of telecommunications customer 
  1.5             information; requiring consent for disclosure of 
  1.6             customer information; amending Minnesota Statutes 1999 
  1.7             Supplement, section 13.99, by adding a subdivision; 
  1.8             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.9             chapter 237. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.12  13.99, is amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 65f.  [TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER 
  1.14  DATA.] Data on customers of telecommunications service providers 
  1.15  are classified under section 237.83.  
  1.16     Sec. 2.  [237.82] [TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT; 
  1.17  DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.18     Subdivision 1.  [GENERALLY.] For purposes of sections 
  1.19  237.82 to 237.86, the following terms have the meanings given 
  1.20  them.  
  1.21     Subd. 2.  [AFFILIATED INTEREST.] "Affiliated interest" has 
  1.22  the meaning given in section 237.65, subdivision 1.  Affiliated 
  1.23  interest also includes a person who directly or indirectly owns 
  1.24  or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under the common 
  1.25  ownership or control of a telecommunications service provider.  
  1.26     Subd. 3.  [AGGREGATE INFORMATION.] "Aggregate information" 
  1.27  means collective data that relate to a group or category of 
  2.1   services or customers from which individual customer identities 
  2.2   have been removed or cannot be ascertained.  
  2.3      Subd. 4.  [CUSTOMER.] "Customer" means an individual or 
  2.4   entity or authorized representative of an individual or entity 
  2.5   to whom a telecommunications service provider is providing or 
  2.6   has provided a telecommunications service.  
  2.7      Subd. 5.  [CUSTOMER INFORMATION.] "Customer information" 
  2.8   means individually identifiable information about a customer 
  2.9   that is available to a telecommunications service provider by 
  2.10  virtue of the relationship between the customer and the 
  2.11  provider, including information regarding the identity of 
  2.12  persons called or from whom calls were received, length and 
  2.13  dates of calls, account balances, bank account information for 
  2.14  automatic withdrawal and other purposes, payment records, 
  2.15  transaction histories, or credit information.  Aggregate 
  2.16  information is not customer information.  
  2.17     Subd. 6.  [PERSON.] "Person" includes:  
  2.18     (1) an individual; 
  2.19     (2) a commercial or business entity, however organized, 
  2.20  including, but not limited to, a firm, company, limited 
  2.21  liability company, partnership, limited liability partnership, 
  2.22  corporation, or cooperative; 
  2.23     (3) a political subdivision, including a county, statutory 
  2.24  or home rule charter city, or town; and 
  2.25     (4) an affiliated interest of a telecommunications service 
  2.26  provider. 
  2.27     Subd. 7.  [TELECOMMUNICATIONS.] "Telecommunications" means 
  2.28  the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, 
  2.29  of information of the user's choosing, without change in the 
  2.30  form or content of the information as sent and received.  
  2.31     Subd. 8.  [TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.] (a) 
  2.32  "Telecommunications service" means:  
  2.33     (1) the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly 
  2.34  to the public, or to classes of users as to be effectively 
  2.35  available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities 
  2.36  used; and 
  3.1      (2) any service subject to this chapter, provided to a 
  3.2   customer at retail for ultimate consumption.  
  3.3      (b) Telecommunications service does not include a service 
  3.4   furnished by one provider to another for resale. 
  3.5      Subd. 9.  [TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE 
  3.6   PROVIDER.] "Telecommunications service provider" means a 
  3.7   provider of a telecommunications service, including an 
  3.8   independent telephone company, telephone company, or 
  3.9   telecommunications carrier; a municipality that provides a 
  3.10  telecommunications service; or a cellular or other wireless 
  3.11  telecommunications service provider.  
  3.12     Sec. 3.  [237.83] [PRIVACY OF CUSTOMER INFORMATION.] 
  3.13     Subdivision 1.  [DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY.] A 
  3.14  telecommunications service provider has a duty to protect the 
  3.15  privacy, confidentiality, and security of customer information.  
  3.16  A telecommunications service provider that receives or obtains 
  3.17  customer information may not disclose or permit access to that 
  3.18  customer information to or by any other person except:  
  3.19     (1) as required by law; or 
  3.20     (2) with the specific, express, prior consent of the 
  3.21  customer pursuant to section 237.84, and only to the extent of 
  3.22  that consent.  
  3.23     Subd. 2.  [EXCEPTIONS.] Sections 237.82 to 237.86 do not 
  3.24  prohibit a telecommunications service provider from disclosing 
  3.25  or permitting access to customer information: 
  3.26     (1) if necessary to initiate, render, bill, or collect for 
  3.27  telecommunications services; 
  3.28     (2) if necessary to protect the rights or property of the 
  3.29  telecommunications service provider or to protect other users of 
  3.30  the telecommunications service provider's services and other 
  3.31  providers from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of or 
  3.32  subscription to telecommunications services; or 
  3.33     (3) if requested by a government entity pursuant to any 
  3.34  lawful authority or process.  
  3.35     Subd. 3.  [GOVERNMENT DATA.] Customer information obtained 
  3.36  by a government entity from a telecommunications service 
  4.1   provider is private data on individuals, as defined in section 
  4.2   13.02, subdivision 12, unless specifically classified by other 
  4.3   law.  
  4.4      Subd. 4.  [AGGREGATE CUSTOMER INFORMATION.] Disclosure of 
  4.5   aggregate customer information by a telecommunications service 
  4.6   provider must be made on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms 
  4.7   and conditions.  
  4.8      Sec. 4.  [237.84] [CUSTOMER NOTICE AND CONSENT FOR 
  4.9   DISCLOSURE.] 
  4.10     Subdivision 1.  [NOTICE.] (a) Before an initial request for 
  4.11  customer consent to the release of customer information and 
  4.12  annually after that time, a telecommunications service provider 
  4.13  shall notify the customer of the customer's right to control 
  4.14  disclosure of and access to information on the customer.  A 
  4.15  telecommunications service provider shall provide this notice in 
  4.16  writing directly to the customer.  The notice must be labeled 
  4.17  "IMPORTANT PRIVACY INFORMATION."  The notice must provide 
  4.18  sufficient information to enable the customer to make an 
  4.19  informed decision as to whether to consent to disclosure of or 
  4.20  access to information on the customer.  
  4.21     (b) A telecommunications service provider shall notify each 
  4.22  customer annually of any currently valid consents the customer 
  4.23  has executed.  
  4.24     Subd. 2.  [CONSENT.] A consent to the release of customer 
  4.25  information must be in writing and signed by the customer.  The 
  4.26  consent must be contained on a separate page that clearly and 
  4.27  conspicuously discloses and allows the customer to specify:  
  4.28     (1) the time during which the consent is effective, which 
  4.29  may not be longer than five years; 
  4.30     (2) each category of customer information that may be 
  4.31  disclosed, including identities of persons called or from whom 
  4.32  calls were received, length and dates of calls, account 
  4.33  balances, bank account information, payment records, transaction 
  4.34  histories, or credit information; and 
  4.35     (3) the persons to whom disclosures may be made. 
  4.36     Sec. 5.  [237.85] [PENALTIES.] 
  5.1      The attorney general may use the remedies under section 
  5.2   8.31, subdivision 3, against a telecommunications service 
  5.3   provider who violates section 237.83 or 237.84. 
  5.4      Sec. 6.  [237.86] [AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.] 
  5.5      Subdivision 1.  [DATA ACCESS TO PROMOTE COMPETITION.] (a) 
  5.6   If the commission finds that access is necessary to promote fair 
  5.7   and reasonable competition for local telecommunications 
  5.8   services, the commission may, by order or rule, allow a 
  5.9   telecommunications carrier that is certified by the commission 
  5.10  to provide local service access to:  
  5.11     (1) the list of telecommunications services a customer 
  5.12  currently subscribes to; and 
  5.13     (2) the characteristics and capabilities of 
  5.14  telecommunications facilities used to provide telecommunications 
  5.15  services to the customer.  
  5.16     (b) A telecommunications carrier that obtains information 
  5.17  under paragraph (a) may only disclose or permit access to that 
  5.18  information as provided in sections 237.83 and 237.84.  
  5.19     Subd. 2.  [SUBSCRIBER LISTS.] The public utilities 
  5.20  commission shall require a telecommunications service provider 
  5.21  that provides local telecommunications services to provide 
  5.22  subscriber list information gathered in its capacity as a 
  5.23  provider of those services in a timely and unbundled basis under 
  5.24  nondiscriminatory and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions to 
  5.25  any person upon request for the purpose of publishing telephone 
  5.26  directories, to the extent required by federal law and 
  5.27  consistent with the purposes of sections 237.82 to 237.86.  
  5.28     Subd. 3.  [SUBSCRIBER LIST INFORMATION DEFINED.] For the 
  5.29  purposes of this section, "subscriber list information" means 
  5.30  the list of names of subscribers of a telecommunications service 
  5.31  provider and the subscribers' telephone numbers and addresses 
  5.32  that the telecommunications service provider, or an affiliate, 
  5.33  has published, caused to be published, or accepted for 
  5.34  publication in any directory format.  
  5.35     Sec. 7.  [SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION ONLY.] 
  5.36     If any portion or provision of this act is held 
  6.1   unenforceable, the remainder of this act remains in full force 
  6.2   and effect.  This act applies to customer information received, 
  6.3   created, or modified by a telecommunications service provider on 
  6.4   or after the effective date.