196.207 Telephone caller identification services.

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Inbound wide-area telecommunications service" means a telecommunications service that allows a subscriber to the service to receive telephone calls from selected service areas at no charge to the person originating the telephone call.

(b) “Pay-per-call service" means a telecommunications service that permits simultaneous calling by a large number of callers to a single telephone number and for which the customer is assessed, on a per-call or a per-time-interval basis, a charge that is greater than or in addition to the charge for the transmission of the call. “Pay-per-call service" does not include a directory assistance or conference call service that is offered by a telecommunications utility and does not include a telecommunications service for which the customer charge is dependent on the existence of a presubscription relationship.

(c) “Telephone caller identification service" means a telecommunications service offered by a telecommunications utility that identifies a telephone line identification for an access line that is used by a person to originate a telephone call to a subscriber to the service.

(d) “Telephone line identification" means the number of or other information associated with an access line that can be used to identify the access line or the subscriber to the line.

(2) Conditions for service. The commission may not approve a schedule or tariff that permits a telephone caller identification service to be offered in this state unless the schedule or tariff provides all of the following:

(a) For the 60-day period immediately preceding the first day on which a telephone caller identification service is operational in a geographical area, the telecommunications utility offering the service shall conduct an informational campaign to describe the telephone caller identification service to its access line customers within that area. The telecommunications utility informational campaign shall include all of the following information:

1. That the utility is offering telephone caller identification service and the date on which the service becomes operational.

2. That an access line customer may choose not to have the customer's telephone line identification identified to telephone caller identification service subscribers on an individual call basis without charge.

3. Other information on the telephone caller identification service that is specified by the commission.

(b) A calling telephone line identification shall be identified to a telephone caller identification service subscriber unless the calling access line customer chooses to have the customer's telephone line identification withheld from identification on an individual call basis or unless the customer installs customer premises equipment that withholds the customer's telephone line identification for all calls originating from the customer's access line.

(c) The telecommunications utility may not charge an access line customer for withholding the customer's telephone line identification from identification on an individual call basis.

(d) An access line customer subscribing to the telephone caller identification service is not prohibited from using customer premises equipment that prevents the subscriber from receiving a call for which the calling telephone line identification is not identified.

(e) An access line customer who is any of the following may choose to have the customer's telephone line identification withheld from identification without charge for all calls originating from the customer's access line:

1. A victim of domestic violence protected by a court order.

2. A domestic violence victim's service program.

3. A battered women's shelter or other organization that provides a safe haven for victims of domestic violence.

(f) If the equipment is available, a telecommunications utility shall offer to access line customers in the geographical area in which telephone caller identification service is offered customer premises equipment produced by an authorized equipment manufacturer that permits a customer to withhold telephone line identification for all calls originating from the customer's access line and customer premises equipment produced by an authorized equipment manufacturer that prevents a telephone caller identification service subscriber from receiving a call for which the calling telephone line identification is not identified.

(2g) Blocking by business. The commission may prohibit business or commercial access line customers from withholding customer telephone line identifications from identification under any schedule or tariff that the commission approves.

(2m) Per line blocking. Under any schedule or tariff that the commission approves, the commission may require that a telecommunications utility that offers a telephone caller identification service to permit an access line customer to choose to withhold the customer's access line identification from identification for all calls originating from the customer's access line.

(3) Exceptions. The commission may not approve a schedule or tariff under sub. (2) if the schedule or tariff allows a customer to withhold the identity of a telephone line identification from any of the following:

(a) A public agency emergency system under s. 256.35.

(b) An identification service provided in connection with an inbound wide-area telecommunications service or a pay-per-call service, unless the commission determines that the telecommunications utility providing the inbound wide-area telecommunications service or the pay-per-call service has the capability to comply with sub. (2) (b) or (e) with regard to that service.

(c) A telephone caller identification service used for calls that are completed within a system that includes both the caller's telephone or other customer premises equipment and the call recipient's telephone or other customer premises equipment and are completed without being transmitted through a publicly switched network.

(e) A trap and trace device as authorized under ss. 968.34 to 968.37.

(f) A telecommunications utility, to identify the access line used to originate a call, for purposes of billing for that call.

(4) Costs. Except for customer premises equipment offered under sub. (2) (f), a telecommunications utility shall charge all costs for caller identification services provided under this section, including all costs related to the options and services provided to access line customers under subs. (2) and (2m), to telephone caller identification service subscribers.

(6) Redisclosure.

(a) A person who obtains an unpublished telephone line identification using a telephone caller identification service may not do any of the following without the written consent of the customer of the unpublished telephone line identification:

1. Disclose the unpublished telephone line identification to another person for purposes of resale or commercial gain.

2. Use the unpublished telephone line identification to solicit business.

3. Intentionally disclose the unpublished telephone line identification through a computer database, on-line bulletin board or other similar mechanism.

(b)

1. A person, other than a corporation, who violates par. (a) may be required to forfeit not more than $5,000. Each disclosure or use of an unpublished telephone line identification is a separate violation.

2. A corporation that violates par. (a) may be required to forfeit not more than $50,000. Each disclosure or use of an unpublished telephone line identification is a separate violation.

History: 1991 a. 268, 269, 315; 1993 a. 496; 1999 a. 185; 2007 a. 130.