§844. Confidentiality

A. Any listed or unlisted number provided by a telephone company pursuant to this Chapter shall be used only by a parish office of homeland security and emergency preparedness or its emergency alert provider, acting at the request of such an office, for the exclusive purpose of providing emergency alert services. Any use involving the reproduction, publishing, reselling, disclosing, tampering with, or providing access to information in the database for any purpose other than the provision of emergency alert service is strictly prohibited.

B. Any unlisted number provided to a parish office of homeland security and emergency preparedness or its emergency alert provider pursuant to this Chapter shall be held in strict confidence by that office, provider, and employees of such office or provider and shall not be disclosed to any other person or persons. Any deliberate violation of this Subsection shall be grounds for a civil suit by the aggrieved subscriber against the parish office of homeland security and emergency preparedness, the emergency alert provider, and any employee of the office or provider responsible for such violation.

C. In the event that a telephone company is named as a defendant in any action instituted by a subscriber concerning the unauthorized use of such subscriber's listed or unlisted number, the appropriate parish office of homeland security and emergency preparedness or its emergency alert provider shall indemnify and hold the telephone company harmless in such action, including the provision of a timely defense.

Acts 1997, No. 199, §2, eff. June 13, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 40, §4, eff. May 23, 2003.