LAW OFFICES OF THOMAS K. CROWE, P.C.
LEGAL
ALERT
Clients and Interested Parties:
The Telecommunications Division of the California Public
Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) is currently
seeking information from carriers
certificated in
California
regarding policies and practices in place
to protect the Customer Proprietary
Network Information (“CPNI”) of California
consumers. Any certificated telephone
carrier that receives the inquiry must
respond by
May 31, 2006. Most, if not all, carriers certificated in
California should have received the
inquiry by now.
CPUC Inquiry
Among other things, the inquiry requests information
regarding the following:
·
CPNI measures currently in place.
·
Whether the company’s procedures are more
aligned with FCC regulations or the
applicable California regulations.
·
Disclosure of CPNI to data brokers.
·
How customer permission is obtained to
disclose CPNI.
·
Online access to users’ accounts and
information.
·
Actions to be taken in the event of a
breach in CPNI privacy.
·
CPNI provisions in company tariffs and
applicability to business customers.
FCC CPNI Statement
While a company’s FCC CPNI Statement (which most carriers
should have filed with the FCC in early
February) will be helpful in responding to
the inquiry, it alone will not be
sufficient to respond adequately to the
CPUC inquiry. In addition, the FCC CPNI
requirements are not identical to the
California regulations and each carrier should ensure that its policies
and procedures comply with
California regulations before submitting
its report.
Provider maintenance and disclosure of CPNI has been the
subject of increased public attention in
light of recent reports that “data
brokers” have advertised the availability
of records of wireless subscribers’
incoming and outgoing telephone calls for
a fee, as well as the recent disclosure
that several major carriers have been
providing CPNI to the National Security
Agency (“NSA”) in connection with the
NSA’s program to detect calling patterns
and investigate terrorist activity. These
developments are likely to increasingly
focus regulatory attention on provider
policies and compliance measures to
protect CPNI.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or
if we can be of any assistance to you.
Thomas K. Crowe, President "firm@tkcrowe.com"
Joshua T. Guyan, Staff Attorney,
Admitted only in
Virginia, 2004. District of Columbia
application pending. (Supervised by Thomas
K. Crowe, a member of the District of
Columbia bar).
Law Offices of Thomas K. Crowe, P.C.
1250 24th Street, N.W.
Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20037
(202) 263-3640 (voice)
(202) 263-3641 (fax)
www.tkcrowe.com