47 U.S.C. § 552 — Consumer protection and customer service

Page 302 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 552 (D) to a government entity as authorized under chapters 119, 121, or 206 of title 18, ex- cept that such disclosure shall not include records revealing cable subscriber selection of video programming from a cable operator. (d) Subscriber access to information A cable subscriber shall be provided access to all personally identifiable information regarding that subscriber which is collected and main- tained by a cable operator. Such information shall be made available to the subscriber at rea- sonable times and at a convenient place des- ignated by such cable operator. A cable sub- scriber shall be provided reasonable opportunity to correct any error in such information. (e) Destruction of information A cable operator shall destroy personally iden- tifiable information if the information is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and there are no pending requests or orders for access to such information under subsection (d) or pursuant to a court order. (f) Civil action in United States district court; damages; attorney’s fees and costs; nonexclu- sive nature of remedy (1) Any person aggrieved by any act of a cable operator in violation of this section may bring a civil action in a United States district court. (2) The court may award— (A) actual damages but not less than liq- uidated damages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher; (B) punitive damages; and (C) reasonable attorneys’ fees and other liti- gation costs reasonably incurred. (3) The remedy provided by this section shall be in addition to any other lawful remedy avail- able to a cable subscriber. (g) Regulation by States or franchising authori- ties Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit any State or any franchising author- ity from enacting or enforcing laws consistent with this section for the protection of subscriber privacy. (h) Disclosure of information to governmental entity pursuant to court order Except as provided in subsection (c)(2)(D), a governmental entity may obtain personally identifiable information concerning a cable sub- scriber pursuant to a court order only if, in the court proceeding relevant to such court order— (1) such entity offers clear and convincing evidence that the subject of the information is reasonably suspected of engaging in criminal activity and that the information sought would be material evidence in the case; and (2) the subject of the information is afforded the opportunity to appear and contest such en- tity’s claim. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 631, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2794; amended Pub. L. 102–385, § 20, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1497; Pub. L. 107–56, title II, § 211, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 283.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT For ‘‘the effective date of this section’’, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), as 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as an Effective Date note under section 521 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2001—Subsec. (c)(2)(D). Pub. L. 107–56, § 211(1), added subpar. (D). Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 107–56, § 211(2), substituted ‘‘Ex- cept as provided in subsection (c)(2)(D), a governmental entity’’ for ‘‘A governmental entity’’ in introductory provisions. 1992—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 102–385, § 20(a), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: ‘‘For purposes of this section, the term ‘person- ally identifiable information’ does not include any record of aggregate data which does not identify par- ticular persons.’’ Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 102–385, § 20(b), inserted before period at end ‘‘and shall take such actions as are nec- essary to prevent unauthorized access to such informa- tion by a person other than the subscriber or cable op- erator’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102–385 effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as a note under section 325 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title. § 552. Consumer protection and customer service (a) Franchising authority enforcement A franchising authority may establish and en- force— (1) customer service requirements of the cable operator; and (2) construction schedules and other con- struction-related requirements, including con- struction-related performance requirements, of the cable operator. (b) Commission standards The Commission shall, within 180 days of Oc- tober 5, 1992, establish standards by which cable operators may fulfill their customer service re- quirements. Such standards shall include, at a minimum, requirements governing— (1) cable system office hours and telephone availability; (2) installations, outages, and service calls; and (3) communications between the cable oper- ator and the subscriber (including standards governing bills and refunds). (c) Subscriber notice A cable operator may provide notice of service and rate changes to subscribers using any rea- sonable written means at its sole discretion. Notwithstanding section 543(b)(6) of this title or any other provision of this chapter, a cable oper- ator shall not be required to provide prior notice of any rate change that is the result of a regu- Page 303 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 553 latory fee, franchise fee, or any other fee, tax, assessment, or charge of any kind imposed by any Federal agency, State, or franchising au- thority on the transaction between the operator and the subscriber. (d) Consumer protection laws and customer serv- ice agreements (1) Consumer protection laws Nothing in this subchapter shall be con- strued to prohibit any State or any fran- chising authority from enacting or enforcing any consumer protection law, to the extent not specifically preempted by this subchapter. (2) Customer service requirement agreements Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a franchising authority and a cable operator from agreeing to customer service re- quirements that exceed the standards estab- lished by the Commission under subsection (b). Nothing in this subchapter shall be con- strued to prevent the establishment or en- forcement of any municipal law or regulation, or any State law, concerning customer service that imposes customer service requirements that exceed the standards set by the Commis- sion under this section, or that addresses mat- ters not addressed by the standards set by the Commission under this section. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 632, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2796; amended Pub. L. 102–385, § 8, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1484; Pub. L. 104–104, title III, § 301(g), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 117.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 104–104 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). 1992—Pub. L. 102–385 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: ‘‘(a) A franchising authority may require, as part of a franchise (including a franchise renewal, subject to section 546 of this title), provisions for enforcement of— ‘‘(1) customer service requirements of the cable op- erator; and ‘‘(2) construction schedules and other construction- related requirements of the cable operator. ‘‘(b) A franchising authority may enforce any provi- sion, contained in any franchise, relating to require- ments described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section, to the extent not inconsistent with this subchapter. ‘‘(c) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit any State or any franchising authority from enacting or enforcing any consumer protection law, to the extent not inconsistent with this subchapter.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102–385 effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as a note under section 325 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title. § 553. Unauthorized reception of cable service (a) Unauthorized interception or receipt or as- sistance in intercepting or receiving service; ‘‘assist in intercepting or receiving’’ defined (1) No person shall intercept or receive or as- sist in intercepting or receiving any commu- nications service offered over a cable system, unless specifically authorized to do so by a cable operator or as may otherwise be specifically au- thorized by law. (2) For the purpose of this section, the term ‘‘assist in intercepting or receiving’’ shall in- clude the manufacture or distribution of equip- ment intended by the manufacturer or dis- tributor (as the case may be) for unauthorized reception of any communications service offered over a cable system in violation of subparagraph (1). (b) Penalties for willful violation (1) Any person who willfully violates sub- section (a)(1) shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or both. (2) Any person who violates subsection (a)(1) willfully and for purposes of commercial advan- tage or private financial gain shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more than $100,000 or im- prisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for any subsequent offense. (3) For purposes of all penalties and remedies established for violations of subsection (a)(1), the prohibited activity established herein as it applies to each such device shall be deemed a separate violation. (c) Civil action in district court; injunctions; damages; attorney’s fees and costs; regula- tion by States or franchising authorities (1) Any person aggrieved by any violation of subsection (a)(1) may bring a civil action in a United States district court or in any other court of competent jurisdiction. (2) The court may— (A) grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reasonable to pre- vent or restrain violations of subsection (a)(1); (B) award damages as described in paragraph (3); and (C) direct the recovery of full costs, includ- ing awarding reasonable attorneys’ fees to an aggrieved party who prevails. (3)(A) Damages awarded by any court under this section shall be computed in accordance with either of the following clauses: (i) the party aggrieved may recover the ac- tual damages suffered by him as a result of the violation and any profits of the violator that are attributable to the violation which are not taken into account in computing the actual damages; in determining the violator’s profits, the party aggrieved shall be required to prove only the violator’s gross revenue, and the vio-