
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 47USC228]

 
          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
 
                 CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
 
                     SUBCHAPTER II--COMMON CARRIERS
 
                    Part I--Common Carrier Regulation
 
Sec. 228. Regulation of carrier offering of pay-per-call 
        services
        

(a) Purpose

    It is the purpose of this section--
        (1) to put into effect a system of national regulation and 
    review that will oversee interstate pay-per-call services; and
        (2) to recognize the Commission's authority to prescribe 
    regulations and enforcement procedures and conduct oversight to 
    afford reasonable protection to consumers of pay-per-call services 
    and to assure that violations of Federal law do not occur.

(b) General authority for regulations

    The Commission by regulation shall, within 270 days after October 
28, 1992, establish a system for oversight and regulation of pay-per-
call services in order to provide for the protection of consumers in 
accordance with this chapter and other applicable Federal statutes and 
regulations. The Commission's final rules shall--
        (1) include measures that provide a consumer of pay-per-call 
    services with adequate and clear descriptions of the rights of the 
    caller;
        (2) define the obligations of common carriers with respect to 
    the provision of pay-per-call services;
        (3) include requirements on such carriers to protect against 
    abusive practices by providers of pay-per-call services;
        (4) identify procedures by which common carriers and providers 
    of pay-per-call services may take affirmative steps to protect 
    against nonpayment of legitimate charges; and
        (5) require that any service described in subparagraphs (A) and 
    (B) of subsection (i)(1) of this section be offered only through the 
    use of certain telephone number prefixes and area codes.

(c) Common carrier obligations

    Within 270 days after October 28, 1992, the Commission shall, by 
regulation, establish the following requirements for common carriers:

                (1) Contractual obligations to comply

        Any common carrier assigning to a provider of pay-per-call 
    services a telephone number with a prefix or area code designated by 
    the Commission in accordance with subsection (b)(5) of this section 
    shall require by contract or tariff that such provider comply with 
    the provisions of titles II and III of the Telephone Disclosure and 
    Dispute Resolution Act [15 U.S.C. 5711 et seq.; 5721 et seq.] and 
    the regulations prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission pursuant 
    to those titles.

                    (2) Information availability

        A common carrier that by tariff or contract assigns a telephone 
    number with a prefix or area code designated by the Commission in 
    accordance with subsection (b)(5) of this section to a provider of a 
    pay-per-call service shall make readily available on request to 
    Federal and State agencies and other interested persons--
            (A) a list of the telephone numbers for each of the pay-per-
        call services it carries;
            (B) a short description of each such service;
            (C) a statement of the total cost or the cost per minute and 
        any other fees for each such service;
            (D) a statement of the pay-per-call service's name, business 
        address, and business telephone; and
            (E) such other information as the Commission considers 
        necessary for the enforcement of this section and other 
        applicable Federal statutes and regulations.

                      (3) Compliance procedures

        A common carrier that by contract or tariff assigns a telephone 
    number with a prefix or area code designated by the Commission in 
    accordance with subsection (b)(5) of this section to a provider of 
    pay-per-call services shall terminate, in accordance with procedures 
    specified in such regulations, the offering of a pay-per-call 
    service of a provider if the carrier knows or reasonably should know 
    that such service is not provided in compliance with title II or III 
    of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act [15 U.S.C. 
    5711 et seq.; 5721 et seq.] or the regulations prescribed by the 
    Federal Trade Commission pursuant to such titles.

               (4) Subscriber disconnection prohibited

        A common carrier shall not disconnect or interrupt a 
    subscriber's local exchange telephone service or long distance 
    telephone service because of nonpayment of charges for any pay-per-
    call service.

                  (5) Blocking and presubscription

        A common carrier that provides local exchange service shall--
            (A) offer telephone subscribers (where technically feasible) 
        the option of blocking access from their telephone number to 
        all, or to certain specific, prefixes or area codes used by pay-
        per-call services, which option--
                (i) shall be offered at no charge (I) to all subscribers 
            for a period of 60 days after the issuance of the 
            regulations under subsection (b) of this section, and (II) 
            to any subscriber who subscribes to a new telephone number 
            until 60 days after the time the new telephone number is 
            effective; and
                (ii) shall otherwise be offered at a reasonable fee; and

            (B) offer telephone subscribers (where the Commission 
        determines it is technically and economically feasible), in 
        combination with the blocking option described under 
        subparagraph (A), the option of presubscribing to or blocking 
        only specific pay-per-call services for a reasonable one-time 
        charge.

    The regulations prescribed under subparagraph (A)(i) of this 
    paragraph may permit the costs of such blocking to be recovered by 
    contract or tariff, but such costs may not be recovered from local 
    or long-distance ratepayers. Nothing in this subsection precludes a 
    common carrier from filing its rates and regulations regarding 
    blocking and presubscription in its interstate tariffs.

                (6) Verification of charitable status

        A common carrier that assigns by contract or tariff a telephone 
    number with a prefix or area code designated by the Commission in 
    accordance with subsection (b)(5) of this section to a provider of 
    pay-per-call services that the carrier knows or reasonably should 
    know is engaged in soliciting charitable contributions shall obtain 
    from such provider proof of the tax exempt status of any person or 
    organization for which contributions are solicited.

                      (7) Billing for 800 calls

        A common carrier shall prohibit by tariff or contract the use of 
    any 800 telephone number, or other telephone number advertised or 
    widely understood to be toll free, in a manner that would result 
    in--
            (A) the calling party being assessed, by virtue of 
        completing the call, a charge for the call;
            (B) the calling party being connected to a pay-per-call 
        service;
            (C) the calling party being charged for information conveyed 
        during the call unless--
                (i) the calling party has a written agreement (including 
            an agreement transmitted through electronic medium) that 
            meets the requirements of paragraph (8); or
                (ii) the calling party is charged for the information in 
            accordance with paragraph (9);

            (D) the calling party being called back collect for the 
        provision of audio information services or simultaneous voice 
        conversation services; or
            (E) the calling party being assessed, by virtue of being 
        asked to connect or otherwise transfer to a pay-per-call 
        service, a charge for the call.

      (8) Subscription agreements for billing for information 
                        provided via toll-free calls

        (A) In general

            For purposes of paragraph (7)(C)(i), a written subscription 
        does not meet the requirements of this paragraph unless the 
        agreement specifies the material terms and conditions under 
        which the information is offered and includes--
                (i) the rate at which charges are assessed for the 
            information;
                (ii) the information provider's name;
                (iii) the information provider's business address;
                (iv) the information provider's regular business 
            telephone number;
                (v) the information provider's agreement to notify the 
            subscriber at least one billing cycle in advance of all 
            future changes in the rates charged for the information; and
                (vi) the subscriber's choice of payment method, which 
            may be by direct remit, debit, prepaid account, phone bill, 
            or credit or calling card.

        (B) Billing arrangements

            If a subscriber elects, pursuant to subparagraph (A)(vi), to 
        pay by means of a phone bill--
                (i) the agreement shall clearly explain that the 
            subscriber will be assessed for calls made to the 
            information service from the subscriber's phone line;
                (ii) the phone bill shall include, in prominent type, 
            the following disclaimer:
                    ``Common carriers may not disconnect local or long 
                distance telephone service for failure to pay disputed 
                charges for information services.''; and

                (iii) the phone bill shall clearly list the 800 number 
            dialed.

        (C) Use of PINs to prevent unauthorized use

            A written agreement does not meet the requirements of this 
        paragraph unless it--
                (i) includes a unique personal identification number or 
            other subscriber-specific identifier and requires a 
            subscriber to use this number or identifier to obtain access 
            to the information provided and includes instructions on its 
            use; and
                (ii) assures that any charges for services accessed by 
            use of the subscriber's personal identification number or 
            subscriber-specific identifier be assessed to subscriber's 
            source of payment elected pursuant to subparagraph (A)(vi).

        (D) Exceptions

            Notwithstanding paragraph (7)(C), a written agreement that 
        meets the requirements of this paragraph is not required--
                (i) for calls utilizing telecommunications devices for 
            the deaf;
                (ii) for directory services provided by a common carrier 
            or its affiliate or by a local exchange carrier or its 
            affiliate; or
                (iii) for any purchase of goods or of services that are 
            not information services.

        (E) Termination of service

            On receipt by a common carrier of a complaint by any person 
        that an information provider is in violation of the provisions 
        of this section, a carrier shall--
                (i) promptly investigate the complaint; and
                (ii) if the carrier reasonably determines that the 
            complaint is valid, it may terminate the provision of 
            service to an information provider unless the provider 
            supplies evidence of a written agreement that meets the 
            requirements of this section.

        (F) Treatment of remedies

            The remedies provided in this paragraph are in addition to 
        any other remedies that are available under subchapter V of this 
        chapter.

     (9) Charges by credit, prepaid, debit, charge, or calling 
                        card in absence of agreement

        For purposes of paragraph (7)(C)(ii), a calling party is not 
    charged in accordance with this paragraph unless the calling party 
    is charged by means of a credit, prepaid, debit, charge, or calling 
    card and the information service provider includes in response to 
    each call an introductory disclosure message that--
            (A) clearly states that there is a charge for the call;
            (B) clearly states the service's total cost per minute and 
        any other fees for the service or for any service to which the 
        caller may be transferred;
            (C) explains that the charges must be billed on either a 
        credit, prepaid, debit, charge, or calling card;
            (D) asks the caller for the card number;
            (E) clearly states that charges for the call begin at the 
        end of the introductory message; and
            (F) clearly states that the caller can hang up at or before 
        the end of the introductory message without incurring any charge 
        whatsoever.

           (10) Bypass of introductory disclosure message

        The requirements of paragraph (9) shall not apply to calls from 
    repeat callers using a bypass mechanism to avoid listening to the 
    introductory message: Provided, That information providers shall 
    disable such a bypass mechanism after the institution of any price 
    increase and for a period of time determined to be sufficient by the 
    Federal Trade Commission to give callers adequate and sufficient 
    notice of a price increase.

                    (11) ``Calling card'' defined

        As used in this subsection, the term ``calling card'' means an 
    identifying number or code unique to the individual, that is issued 
    to the individual by a common carrier and enables the individual to 
    be charged by means of a phone bill for charges incurred independent 
    of where the call originates.

(d) Billing and collection practices

    The regulations required by this section shall require that any 
common carrier that by tariff or contract assigns a telephone number 
with a prefix or area code designated by the Commission in accordance 
with subsection (b)(5) of this section to a provider of a pay-per-call 
service and that offers billing and collection services to such 
provider--
        (1) ensure that a subscriber is not billed--
            (A) for pay-per-call services that such carrier knows or 
        reasonably should know was provided in violation of the 
        regulations issued pursuant to title II of the Telephone 
        Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act [15 U.S.C. 5711 et seq.]; 
        or
            (B) under such other circumstances as the Commission 
        determines necessary in order to protect subscribers from 
        abusive practices;

        (2) establish a local or a toll-free telephone number to answer 
    questions and provide information on subscribers' rights and 
    obligations with regard to their use of pay-per-call services and to 
    provide to callers the name and mailing address of any provider of 
    pay-per-call services offered by the common carrier;
        (3) within 60 days after the issuance of final regulations 
    pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, provide, either directly 
    or through contract with any local exchange carrier that provides 
    billing or collection services to the common carrier, to all of such 
    common carrier's telephone subscribers, to all new subscribers, and 
    to all subscribers requesting service at a new location, a 
    disclosure statement that sets forth all rights and obligations of 
    the subscriber and the carrier with respect to the use and payment 
    for pay-per-call services, including the right of a subscriber not 
    to be billed and the applicable blocking option; and
        (4) in any billing to telephone subscribers that includes 
    charges for any pay-per-call service--
            (A) display any charges for pay-per-call services in a part 
        of the subscriber's bill that is identified as not being related 
        to local and long distance telephone charges;
            (B) 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; and
            (C) identify the toll-free number established pursuant to 
        paragraph (2).

(e) Liability

     (1) Common carriers not liable for transmission or billing

        No common carrier shall be liable for a criminal or civil 
    sanction or penalty solely because the carrier provided transmission 
    or billing and collection for a pay-per-call service unless the 
    carrier knew or reasonably should have known that such service was 
    provided in violation of a provision of, or regulation prescribed 
    pursuant to, title II or III of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute 
    Resolution Act [15 U.S.C. 5711 et seq.; 5721 et seq.] or any other 
    Federal law. This paragraph shall not prevent the Commission from 
    imposing a sanction or penalty on a common carrier for a violation 
    by that carrier of a regulation prescribed under this section.

                         (2) Civil liability

        No cause of action may be brought in any court or administrative 
    agency against any common carrier or any of its affiliates on 
    account of any act of the carrier or affiliate to terminate any pay-
    per-call service in order to comply with the regulations prescribed 
    under this section, title II or III of the Telephone Disclosure and 
    Dispute Resolution Act [15 U.S.C. 5711 et seq.; 5721 et seq.], or 
    any other Federal law unless the complainant demonstrates that the 
    carrier or affiliate did not act in good faith.

(f) Special provisions

                  (1) Consumer refund requirements

        The regulations required by subsection (d) of this section shall 
    establish procedures, consistent with the provisions of titles II 
    and III of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act [15 
    U.S.C. 5711 et seq.; 5721 et seq.], to ensure that carriers and 
    other parties providing billing and collection services with respect 
    to pay-per-call services provide appropriate refunds to subscribers 
    who have been billed for pay-per-call services pursuant to programs 
    that have been found to have violated this section or such 
    regulations, any provision of, or regulations prescribed pursuant 
    to, title II or III of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute 
    Resolution Act, or any other Federal law.

                        (2) Recovery of costs

        The regulations prescribed by the Commission under this section 
    shall permit a common carrier to recover its cost of complying with 
    such regulations from providers of pay-per-call services, but shall 
    not permit such costs to be recovered from local or long distance 
    ratepayers.

              (3) Recommendations on data pay-per-call

        The Commission, within one year after October 28, 1992, shall 
    submit to the Congress the Commission's recommendations with respect 
    to the extension of regulations under this section to persons that 
    provide, for a per-call charge, data services that are not pay-per-
    call services.

(g) Effect on other law

                  (1) No preemption of election law

        Nothing in this section shall relieve any provider of pay-per-
    call services, common carrier, local exchange carrier, or any other 
    person from the obligation to comply with Federal, State, and local 
    election statutes and regulations.

                    (2) Consumer protection laws

        Nothing in this section shall relieve any provider of pay-per-
    call services, common carrier, local exchange carrier, or any other 
    person from the obligation to comply with any Federal, State, or 
    local statute or regulation relating to consumer protection or 
    unfair trade.

                          (3) Gambling laws

        Nothing in this section shall preclude any State from enforcing 
    its statutes and regulations with regard to lotteries, wagering, 
    betting, and other gambling activities.

                         (4) State authority

        Nothing in this section shall preclude any State from enacting 
    and enforcing additional and complementary oversight and regulatory 
    systems or procedures, or both, so long as such systems and 
    procedures govern intrastate services and do not significantly 
    impede the enforcement of this section or other Federal statutes.

               (5) Enforcement of existing regulations

        Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the 
    Commission from enforcing regulations prescribed prior to October 
    28, 1992, in fulfilling the requirements of this section to the 
    extent that such regulations are consistent with the provisions of 
    this section.

(h) Effect on dial-a-porn prohibitions

    Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of section 223 
of this title.

(i) ``Pay-per-call services'' defined

    For purposes of this section--
        (1) The term ``pay-per-call services'' means any service--
            (A) in which any person provides or purports to provide--
                (i) audio information or audio entertainment produced or 
            packaged by such person;
                (ii) access to simultaneous voice conversation services; 
            or
                (iii) any service, including the provision of a product, 
            the charges for which are assessed on the basis of the 
            completion of the call;

            (B) for which the caller pays a per-call or per-time-
        interval charge that is greater than, or in addition to, the 
        charge for transmission of the call; and
            (C) which is accessed through use of a 900 telephone number 
        or other prefix or area code designated by the Commission in 
        accordance with subsection (b)(5) of this section.

        (2) Such term does not include directory services provided by a 
    common carrier or its affiliate or by a local exchange carrier or 
    its affiliate, or any service for which users are assessed charges 
    only after entering into a presubscription or comparable arrangement 
    with the provider of such service.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, Sec. 228, as added Pub. L. 102-556, 
title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4182; amended Pub. L. 103-
414, title III, Sec. 303(a)(13), (14), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4294; 
Pub. L. 104-104, title VII, Sec. 701(a)(1), (b)(2), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 
Stat. 145, 148.)

                       References in Text

    The Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act, referred to in 
subsecs. (c)(1), (3), (d)(1)(A), (e), and (f)(1), is Pub. L. 102-556, 
Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4181. Titles II and III of the Act are 
classified generally to subchapters I (Sec. 5711 et seq.) and II 
(Sec. 5721 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 83 of Title 15, Commerce 
and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see 
section 5701(a) of Title 15 and Tables.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (c)(7)(C). Pub. L. 104-104, Sec. 701(a)(1)(A), added 
subpar. (C) and struck out former subpar. (C) which read as follows: 
``the calling party being charged for information conveyed during the 
call unless the calling party has a preexisting agreement to be charged 
for the information or discloses a credit or charge card number during 
the call; or''.
    Subsec. (c)(7)(E). Pub. L. 104-104, Sec. 701(a)(1)(B), added subpar. 
(E).
    Subsec. (c)(8) to (11). Pub. L. 104-104, Sec. 701(a)(1)(C), added 
pars. (8) to (11).
    Subsec. (i)(2). Pub. L. 104-104, Sec. 701(b)(2), struck out ``or any 
service the charge for which is tariffed,'' after ``local exchange 
carrier or its affiliate,''.
    1994--Subsec. (c)(2) to (7). Pub. L. 103-414, Sec. 303(a)(13), 
redesignated par. (2), relating to compliance procedures, as (3) and 
pars. (3) to (6) as (4) to (7), respectively.
    Subsec. (c)(7)(D). Pub. L. 103-414, Sec. 303(a)(14), which directed 
substitution of ``conversation'' for ``conservation'' in par. (6)(D), 
was executed by making the substitution in par. (7)(D) to reflect the 
probable intent of Congress and the redesignation of par. (6) as (7) by 
Pub. L. 103-414, Sec. 303(a)(13). See above.


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Section 701(a)(3) of Pub. L. 104-104 provided that: ``The amendments 
made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall take effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 8, 1996].''


                               Regulations

    Section 701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 104-104 provided that: ``The Federal 
Communications Commission shall revise its regulations to comply with 
the amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 8, 1996].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 15 section 5714.
