2008 Telephone Records Legislation

2008 Telephone Records Legislation

Telephone calling records, gathered by local, long-distance and wireless telephone companies, provide information on calls made by consumers. A number of unscrupulous companies and individuals have been fined for selling this confidential information to third parties. Georgia, Washington and Wisconsin have enacted laws regulating the procurement or sale of telephone records. In 2008, at least three states considered similar measures.

Arizona
H.B. 2446
Makes a technical correction to the telephone records law.

New Jersey
A.B. 1250
Revises the statutory language of the Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act to clarify that the law's provisions apply to all entities that provide voice services.

A.B. 2220
Makes it a crime for a person to provide confidential information to a third party if the person is not authorized to request the information and requires a custodian of confidential information to notify a person if confidential information has been accessed by unauthorized persons or in the event of a security breach.

West Virginia
H.B. 3265
Establishes the Telephone Record Confidentiality Act. Prohibits any person from obtaining, selling or receiving a person's telephone record without their consent.

For additional information on telephone records state legislation, please contact Bob Boerner, NCSL, (303) 364-7700, Bob.Boerner@ncsl.org.