Pennsylvania § 2905 - Telephone message services.

§ 2905. Telephone message services.

(a) Notice.--Any telephone message service that provides a commercial, informational, public service or other message for a specific charge billed to the caller by a local phone company, prior to the presentation of the message, shall warn the caller that the cost of the call will be charged and that the charge will be itemized on the caller's telephone bill. In the event the message requested contains explicit sexual material, the warning preceding the message shall also inform the caller the message contains explicit sexual material.

(b) Intrastate services.--Before any call can be completed to any telephone message service containing explicit sexual material, the caller shall have first obtained an access code number or other personal identification number consisting of not less than nine digits from the telephone message service through written application to the telephone message service. This access code number or personal identification number must be presented to the telephone message service after the warning message and in order to complete the call.

(c) Dissemination to minors.--Access codes or personal identification numbers obtained to complete calls containing explicit sexual material as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903 (relating to obscene and other sexual materials) shall not be issued to a minor. Telephone message services shall exercise all reasonable methods to ascertain that the applicant is not a minor.

(d) Telephone company duties.--Every local telephone company and competitive interexchange telephone service shall list all telephone message service calls on the customer telephone bill and shall designate the type or title of message obtained. In addition, the telephone company shall provide, upon request, at no cost to the consumer, the name and address of any telephone service provider. All telephone companies shall include in their telephone message service tariffs, whether provided through the 976 exchange or otherwise, or in any contract with such telephone message service sponsor, a clause requiring compliance with this section as a condition for continuation of the service.

(e) Costs of service.--

(1) All costs relating to this section shall be borne solely by the telephone message service.

(2) All telephone message services shall provide, in writing, to all telephone companies and competitive interexchange telephone companies providing service in this Commonwealth, their complete telephone number or numbers, including area codes and type or title of service provided. This information shall be provided at the time of newly established service, change in service and annually.

(f) Blocking access.--Every telephone company shall, except to the extent that written authorization is required by a customer for availability of access to all or certain types of telephone message services, provide to customers the option of having access to such telephone message services blocked. The telephone company may not charge the customer any fee or other cost for blocking access to availability of telephone message services unless such telephone company has already provided such blocking to the customer without fee.

(g) Enforcement.--

(1) The commission shall promulgate rules or regulations to ensure the compliance of telephone companies providing messages covered by this section.

(2) The failure of a telephone company to comply with this section shall be a violation of this section and the telephone company shall be subject to enforcement proceedings pursuant to section 502 (relating to enforcement proceedings by commission).

(3) Failure of a telephone message service to comply with this section shall be a violation of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 (relating to theft and related offenses).

(Mar. 30, 1988, P.L.301, No.37, eff. 60 days)

1988 Amendment. Act 37 added section 2905.