Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 473, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1999.
(a)The Legislature finds and declares that a number of federal and state laws have been enacted to protect residential telephone subscribers’ privacy rights with respect to telephone solicitations. Various governmental agencies publish information that generally describes telephone subscribers’ rights under these laws. Examples of publications include the Federal Trade Commission’s brochure, “Straight Talk About Telemarketing,” and the Federal Communications Commission’s publication, “Consumer News, What You Can Do About Unsolicited
Telephone Marketing Calls and Faxes.” The Legislature intends that telephone subscribers be provided with information regarding their privacy rights, under state and federal law, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(b)Every local exchange telephone corporation shall provide its residential customers with information regarding state and federal laws that protect the privacy rights of residential telephone subscribers with respect to telephone solicitations by providing on an annual basis one or more of the following items of information in the billing statement of each residential customer and in conspicuous notices in the consumer information pages of the local telephone directories distributed by that telephone corporation:
(1)A copy of a publication prepared by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, or any other
federal or state governmental agency that generally describes telephone subscribers’ privacy rights, under state and federal laws, with respect to telephone solicitations.
(2)A list of the titles of the publications identified in paragraph (1) and information on how to obtain those publications.
(c)A provider of local exchange service shall not be subject to any penalties if the provider makes a good faith effort to provide or identify the publications described in subdivision (b).
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