15 U.S.C. § 5712 — Actions by States

Page 2212 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 5712 (iv) informs the caller that parental con- sent is required for calls made by children; and (v) in the case of a pay-per-call service that is not operated or expressly author- ized by a Federal agency but that provides information on any Federal program, a statement that clearly states that the service is not authorized, endorsed, or ap- proved by any Federal agency; (B) enable the caller to hang up at or be- fore the end of the introductory message without incurring any charge whatsoever; (C) not direct such services at children under the age of 12, unless such service is a bona fide educational service; (D) stop the assessment of time-based charges immediately upon disconnection by the caller; (E) disable any bypass mechanism which allows frequent callers to avoid listening to the disclosure message described in subpara- graph (A) after the institution of any price increase and for a period of time sufficient to give such frequent callers adequate and sufficient notice of the price change; (F) be prohibited from providing pay-per- call services through an 800 number or other telephone number advertised or widely un- derstood to be toll free; (G) be prohibited from billing consumers in excess of the amounts described in the in- troductory message and from billing for services provided in violation of the rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to this section; (H) ensure that any billing statement for such provider’s charges shall— (i) display any charges for pay-per-call services in a part of the consumer’s bill that is identified as not being related to local and long distance telephone charges; and (ii) for each charge so displayed, specify, at a minimum, the type of service, the amount of the charge, and the date, time, and duration of the call; (I) be liable for refunds to consumers who have been billed for pay-per-call services pursuant to programs that have been found to have violated the regulations prescribed pursuant to this section or subchapter II of this chapter or any other Federal law; and (J) comply with such additional standards as the Commission may prescribe to prevent abusive practices. (3) Access to information The Commission shall by rule require a com- mon carrier that provides telephone services to a provider of pay-per-call services to make available to the Commission any records and financial information maintained by such car- rier relating to the arrangements (other than for the provision of local exchange service) be- tween such carrier and any provider of pay- per-call services. (4) Evasions The rules issued by the Commission under this section shall include provisions to pro- hibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices that evade such rules or undermine the rights pro- vided to customers under this subchapter, in- cluding through the use of alternative billing or other procedures. (5) Exemptions The regulations prescribed by the Commis- sion pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) may exempt from the requirements of such paragraph— (A) calls from frequent callers or regular subscribers using a bypass mechanism to avoid listening to the disclosure message re- quired by such regulations, subject to the re- quirements of paragraph (2)(E); or (B) pay-per-call services provided at nomi- nal charges, as defined by the Commission in such regulations. (6) Consideration of other rules required In conducting a proceeding under this sec- tion, the Commission shall consider requiring, by rule or regulation, that providers of pay- per-call services— (A) automatically disconnect a call after one full cycle of the program; and (B) include a beep tone or other appro- priate and clear signal during a live inter- active group program so that callers will be alerted to the passage of time. (7) Special rule for infrequent publications The rules prescribed by the Commission under subparagraphs (A) and (G) of paragraph (1) may permit, in the case of publications that are widely distributed, that are printed annually or less frequently, and that have an established policy of not publishing specific prices, advertising that in lieu of the cost dis- closures required by such subparagraphs, clearly and conspicuously disclose that use of the telephone number may result in a substan- tial charge. (8) Treatment of rules A rule issued under this subsection shall be treated as a rule issued under section 57a(a)(1)(B) of this title. (b) Rulemaking The Commission shall prescribe the rules under subsection (a) within 270 days after Octo- ber 28, 1992. Such rules shall be prescribed in ac- cordance with section 553 of title 5. (c) Enforcement Any violation of any rule prescribed under subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule respecting unfair or deceptive acts or practices under section 45 of this title. Notwith- standing section 45(a)(2) of this title, commu- nications common carriers shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission for purposes of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 102–556, title II, § 201, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4187.) § 5712. Actions by States (a) In general Whenever an attorney general of any State has reason to believe that the interests of the residents of that State have been or are being Page 2213 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 5714 threatened or adversely affected because any person has engaged or is engaging in a pattern or practice which violates any rule of the Com- mission under section 5711(a) of this title, the State may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents in an appropriate district court of the United States to enjoin such pattern or practice, to enforce compliance with such rule of the Commission, to obtain damages on behalf of their residents, or to obtain such further and other relief as the court may deem appropriate. (b) Notice The State shall serve prior written notice of any civil action under subsection (a) upon the Commission and provide the Commission with a copy of its complaint, except that if it is not feasible for the State to provide such prior no- tice, the State shall serve such notice imme- diately upon instituting such action. Upon re- ceiving a notice respecting a civil action, the Commission shall have the right (1) to intervene in such action, (2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising therein, and (3) to file petitions for appeal. (c) Venue Any civil action brought under this section in a district court of the United States may be brought in the district wherein the defendant is found or is an inhabitant or transacts business or wherein the violation occurred or is occur- ring, and process in such cases may be served in any district in which the defendant is an inhab- itant or wherever the defendant may be found. (d) Investigatory powers For purposes of bringing any civil action under this section, nothing in this chapter shall prevent the attorney general from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws of such State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the pro- duction of documentary and other evidence. (e) Effect on State court proceedings Nothing contained in this section shall pro- hibit an authorized State official from pro- ceeding in State court on the basis of an alleged violation of any general civil or criminal anti- fraud statute of such State. (f) Limitation Whenever the Commission has instituted a civil action for violation of any rule or regula- tion under this chapter, no State may, during the pendency of such action instituted by the Commission, subsequently institute a civil ac- tion against any defendant named in the Com- mission’s complaint for violation of any rule as alleged in the Commission’s complaint. (g) Actions by other State officials (1) Nothing contained in this section shall pro- hibit an authorized State official from pro- ceeding in State court on the basis of an alleged violation of any general civil or criminal statute of such State. (2) In addition to actions brought by an attor- ney general of a State under subsection (a), such an action may be brought by officers of such State who are authorized by the State to bring actions in such State for protection of con- sumers and who are designated by the Commis- sion to bring an action under subsection (a) against persons that the Commission has deter- mined have or are engaged in a pattern or prac- tice which violates a rule of the Commission under section 5711(a) of this title. (Pub. L. 102–556, title II, § 202, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4190.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (d) and (f), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 102–556, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4181, known as the Telephone Disclo- sure and Dispute Resolution Act. For complete classi- fication of this Act to the Code, see References in Text note set out under section 5701 of this title and Tables. § 5713. Administration and applicability of sub- chapter (a) In general Except as otherwise provided in section 5712 of this title, this subchapter shall be enforced by the Commission under the Federal Trade Com- mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). Consequently, no activity which is outside the jurisdiction of that Act shall be affected by this chapter, ex- cept for purposes of this subchapter. (b) Actions by Commission The Commission shall prevent any person from violating a rule of the Commission under section 5711 of this title in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com- mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor- porated into and made a part of this subchapter. Any person who violates such rule shall be sub- ject to the penalties and entitled to the privi- leges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 102–556, title II, § 203, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4191.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Trade Commission Act, referred to in text, is act Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 41 et seq.) of chapter 2 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 58 of this title and Ta- bles. § 5714. Definitions For purposes of this subchapter: (1) The term ‘‘pay-per-call services’’ has the meaning provided in section 228(i) of title 47, except that the Commission by rule may, not- withstanding subparagraphs (B) and (C) of sec- tion 228(i)(1) of title 47, extend such definition to other similar services providing audio infor- mation or audio entertainment if the Commis-