FULL TEXT: The Communications Decency Act of 1996

TITLE V--OBSCENITY AND VIOLENCE

Subtitle A--Obscene, Harassing, and Wrongful Utilization of Telecommunications Facilities

SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the 'Communications Decency Act of 1996'.

SEC. 502. OBSCENE OR HARASSING USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES UNDER THE COM MUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.

Section 223 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended--

(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof:

'(a) Whoever--

'(1) in interstate or foreign communications--

'(A) by means of a telecommunications device knowingly--

'(i) makes, creates, or solici ts, and

'(ii) initiates the transmission of,

any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person;

'(B) by means of a telecommunications device knowi ngly--

'(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and

'(ii) initiates the transmission of,

any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene or indecent, knowing that the recipient of the communication is under 18 years of age, regardless of whether the maker of such communication placed the call or in itiated the communication;

'(C) makes a telephone call or utilizes a telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or communication ensues, without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person at the called number or who receives the communicat ions;

'(D) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly or continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called number; or

'(E) makes repeated telephone calls or repeatedly initiates communication with a telecommunications dev ice, during which conversation or communicat ion ensues, solely to harass any person at the called number or who receives the communication; or

'(2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under his control to be used for any activity prohibited by paragraph (1) with the intent that it be used for such activity,

shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:

'(d) Whoever--

'(1) in interstate or foreign communications knowingly--

'(A) uses an interactive computer service to send to a specific perso n or persons under 18 years of age, or

'(B) uses any interactive computer service to display in a manner available to a person under 18 years of age,

any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs, regardless of whether the user of such service placed the call or initiated the communication; or

'(2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under such person's control to be used for an activity prohibited by paragraph (1) with the intent that it be used for such activity,

shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

'(e) In addition to any other defenses available by law:

'(1) No per son shall be held to have violated subsectio n (a) or (d) solely for providing access or connection to or from a facility, system, or network not under that person's control, including transmission, downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other related capabilities that are incidental to providing such access or connection that does not include the creation of the content of the communication.

'(2) The defenses provided by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not be applicable to a person who is a conspirator with an entity actively involved in the creation or knowing dist ribution of communications that violate this section, or who knowingly advertises the availability of such communications.

'(3) The defenses provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not be applicable to a person who provides access or connection to a facility, system, or network engage d in the violation of this section that is o wned or controlled by such person.

'(4) No employer shall be held liable under this section for the actions of an employee or agent unless the employee's or agent's conduct is within the scope of his or her employment or agency and the employer (A) hav ing knowledge of such conduct, authorizes or ratifies such conduct, or (B) recklessly disregards such conduct.

'(5) It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection (a)(1)(B) or (d), or under subsection (a)(2) with respect to the use of a facility for an activity under subsection (a)(1)(B) that a person--

'(A) has taken, in good faith , reasonable, effective, and appropriate actions under the circumstances to restrict or prevent access by minors to a communication specified in such subsections, which may involve any appropriate measures to restrict minors from such communications, incl uding any method which is feasible under ava ilable technology; or

'(B) has restricted access to such communication by requiring use of a verified credit card, debit account, adult access code, or adult personal identification number.

'(6) The Commission may describe measures which are reasona ble, effective, and appropriate to restrict access to prohibited communications under subsection (d). Nothing in this section authorizes the Commission to enforce, or is intended to provide the Commission with the authority to approve, sanction, or permit, the use of such measures. The Commission s hall have no enforcement authority over the failure to utilize such measures. The Commission shall not endorse specific products relating to such measures. The use of such measures shall be admitted as evidence of good faith efforts for purposes of paragraph (5) in any action arising under subsecti on (d). Nothing in this section shall be con strued to treat interactive computer services as common carriers or telecommunications carriers.

'(f)(1) No cause of action may be brought in any court or administrative agency against any person on account of any activity that is not in violation of a ny law punishable by criminal or civil penal ty, and that the person has taken in good faith to implement a defense authorized under this section or otherwise to restrict or prevent the transmission of, or access to, a communication specified in this section.

'(2) No State or local government may impose any liability for commercial activit ies or actions by commercial entities, nonprofit libraries, or institutions of higher education in connection with an activity or action described in subsection (a)(2) or (d) that is inconsistent with the treatment of those activities or actions under thi s section: Provided, however, That nothing herein shall preclude any State or local government from enacting and enforcing complementary oversight, liability, and regulatory systems, procedures, and requirements, so long as such systems, procedures, and requirements govern only intrastate services and do not result in the imposition of inconsistent rights, duties or obligations on the provision of interstate services.

Nothing in this subsection shall preclude any State or local government from governing conduct not covered by this section.

'(g) Nothing in subsection (a), (d), ( e), or (f) or in the defenses to prosecution under (a) or (d) shall be construed to affect or limit the application or enforcement of any other Federal law.

'(h) For purposes of this section--

'(1) The use of the term 'telecommunications device' in this section--

'(A) shall not impose new obligations on broadcasting station licensee s and cable operators covered by obscenity and indecency provisions elsewhere in this Act; and

'(B) does not include an interactive computer service.

'(2) The term 'interactive computer service' has the meaning provided in section 230(e)(2).

'(3) The term 'access software' means software ( including client or server software) or enabling tools that do not create or provide the content of the communication but that allow a user to do any one or more of the following:

'(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;

'(B) pick, choose, a nalyze, or digest content; or

'(C) transm it, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.

'(4) The term 'institution of higher education' has the meaning provided in section 1201 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141).

'(5) The term 'library' means a library eligible for participation in State-based plans for funds under title III of the Library Services and Construction Act (20 U.S.C. 355e et seq.).'.

SEC. 503. OBSCENE PROGRAMMING ON CABLE TELEVISION.

Section 639 (47 U.S.C. 559) is amended by s triking 'not more than $10,000' and insertin g 'under title 18, United States Code,'.

SEC. 504. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS.

Part IV of title VI (47 U.S. C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

'SEC. 640. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS.

'(a) Subscriber Request: Upon request by a cable service subscriber, a cable operator shall, without charge, fully scramble or otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of each channel carrying such programming so that on e not a subscriber does not receive it.

' (b) Definition: As used in this section, the term 'scramble' means to rearrange the content of the signal of the programming so that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in an understandable manner.'.

SEC. 505. SCR AMBLING OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ADULT VIDEO SER VICE PROGRAMMING.

(a) Requirement: Part IV of title VI (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

'SEC. 641. SCRAMBLING OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ADULT VIDE O SERVICE PROGRAMMING.

'(a) R equirement: In providing sexually explicit adult programming or other programming that is indecent on any channel of its service primarily dedicated to sexually-oriented programming, a multichannel video programming distributor shall fully scramb le or otherwise fully block the video and au dio portion of such channel so that one not a subscriber to such channel or programming does not receive it.

'(b) Implementation: Until a multichannel video programming distributor complies with the requirement set forth in subsection (a), the distributor shall limit the access of children to the programming referred to in that subsection by not providing such programming during the hours of the day (as determined by the Commission) when a significant number of children are likely to view it.

'(c) Definition: As used in this section, the term 'scramble ' means to rearrange the content of the signal of the programming so that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in an understandable manner.'.

(b) Effective Date: The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 506. CABLE OPERATOR REFUSAL TO CARRY CERTAIN PROGRAMS.

(a) Public, Educational, and Governmental Channels: Section 611(e) (47 U.S.C. 531(e)) is amended by inserting before the period the following: ', except a cable operator may refuse to transmit any public access program or portion of a public access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity'.

(b) Cable Channels for Commercial Use: Section 612(c)(2) (47 U.S.C. 532(c)(2)) is amended by striking 'an operator' and inserting 'a cable operator may refuse to transmit any le ased access program or portion of a leased access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity and'.

SEC. 507. CLARIFICATION OF CURRENT LAWS REGARDING COMMUNICATION OF OBSCENE MATERIALS THROUGH THE USE OF COMPUTERS.

(a) Importation or Transportation: Section 1462 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in the first undesignated paragraph, by inserting 'or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)' after 'carrier'; and

(2) in t he second undesignated paragraph--

(A) by inserting 'or receives,' after 'takes';

(B) by inserting 'or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)' after 'common carrier'; and

(C) by inserting 'or importation' after 'carriage'.

(b) Transportation for Purposes of Sale or Distribution: The first undesignated paragraph of section 1465 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by striking 'transports in' and inserting 'transports or travels in, or uses a facility or means of,';

(2) by inserting 'or an interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934) in or affecting such commerce' after 'foreign commerce' the first place it appears;

(3) by striking ', or knowingly travels in' and all that follows through 'obscene material in interstate or foreig n commerce,' and inserting 'of'.

(c) Interpretation: The amendments made by this section are clarifying and shall not be interpreted to limit or repeal any prohibition contained in sections 1462 and 1465 of title 18, United States Code, before such amendment, under the rule esta blished in United States v. Alpers, 338 U.S. 680 (1950).

SEC. 508. COERCION AND ENTICEMENT OF MINORS.

Section 2422 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by inserting '(a)' before 'Whoever knowingly'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

'(b) Who ever, using any facility or means of interst ate or foreign commerce, including the mail, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years to engage in prostitut ion or any sexual act for which any person m ay be criminally prosecuted, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.'.

SEC. 509. ONLINE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT.

Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the f ollowing new section:

'SEC. 230. PROTECTION FOR PRIVATE BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.

'(a) Findings: The Congress finds the following:

'(1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other in teractive computer services available to ind ividual Americans represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of educational and informational resources to our citizens.

'(2) These services offer users a great degree of control over the information that they receive, as well as the potent ial for even greater control in the future a s technology develops.

'(3) The Internet and other interactive computer services offer a forum for a true diversity of political discourse, unique opportunities for cultural development, and myriad avenues for intellectual activity.

'(4) The Interne t and other interactive computer services ha ve flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation.

'(5) Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media for a variety of political, educational, cultural, and entertainment services.

'(b) Policy< /strong>: It is the policy of the United Sta tes--

'(1) to promote the continued development of the Internet and other interactive computer services and other interactive media;

'(2) to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactiv e computer services, unfettered by Federal o r State regulation;

'(3) to encourage the development of technologies which maximize user control over what information is received by individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive computer services;

'(4) to remove di sincentives for the development and utilizat ion of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material; and

'(5) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in o bscenity, stalking, and harassment by means of computer.

'(c) Protection for 'Good Samaritan' Blocking and Screening of Offensive Material:

'(1) Treatment of publisher or speaker: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information pro vided by another information content provider.

'(2) Civil liability: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of--

'(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to o r availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected; or

'(B) any action taken to enable or make available to information cont ent providers or others the technical means to restrict access to material described in paragraph (1).

'(d) Effect on Other Laws:

'(1) No effect on criminal law: Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 of this Act, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 ( relating to sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, United States Code, or any other Federal criminal statute.

'(2) No effect on intellectual property law: Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or expand any law per taining to intellectual property.

'(3) State law: Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any State law that is consistent with this section. No cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law tha t is inconsistent with this section.

'(4) No effect on communications privacy law: Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 or any of the amendments made by such Act, or any similar State law.

'(e ) Definitions: As used in t his section:

'(1) Internet: The term 'Internet' means the international computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data networks.

'(2) Interactive computer service: The term 'inte ractive computer service' means any informat ion service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.

'(3) Information content provider: The term 'information content provider' means any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other in teractive computer service.

'(4) A ccess software provider: The term 'access software provider' means a provider of software (including client or server software), or enabling tools that do any one or more of the following:

'(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;

'( B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or

'(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.'.

Subtitle B--Violence

SEC. 551. PARENTAL CHOICE IN TELEVISION PROGRAMMING.

(a) Find ings: The Congress makes the follow ing findings:

(1) Television influences children's perception of the values and behavior that are common and acceptable in society.

(2) Television station operators, cable television system operators, and video programmers should follow practices in connection with video programming that take into consideration that television broadcast and cable programming has established a uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of American children.

(3) The average American child is exposed to 25 hours of television each week and some children are exp osed to as much as 11 hours of television a day.

(4) Studies have shown that children exposed to violent video programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than children not so exposed, and that children exposed to violent video programming are prone to assume that acts of violence ar e acceptable behavior.

(5) Children in the United States are, on average, exposed to an estimated 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television by the time the child completes elementary school.

(6) Studies indicate that children are affe cted by the pervasiveness and casual treatme nt of sexual material on television, eroding the ability of parents to develop responsible attitudes and behavior in their children.

(7) Parents express grave concern over violent and sexual video programming and strongly support technology that would give them greater control to block video pro gramming in the home that they consider harmful to their children.

(8) There is a compelling governmental interest in empowering parents to limit the negative influences of video programming that is harmful to children.

(9) Providing parents with ti mely information about the nature of upcomin g video programming and with the technological tools that allow them easily to block violent, sexual, or other programming that they believe harmful to their children is a nonintrusive and narrowly tailored means of achieving that compelling governmental interest.

(b) Establishment of Te levision Rating Code:

(1) Amendment: Section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303) is amended by adding at the end the following:

'(w) Prescribe--

'(1) on the basis of recommendations from an advisory committee established by the Commiss ion in accordance with section 551(b)(2) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, guidelines and recommended procedures for the identification and rating of video programming that contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material about which parents should be informed before it is displayed to chi ldren, provided that nothing in this paragra ph shall be construed to authorize any rating of video programming on the basis of its political or religious content; and

'(2) with respect to any video programming that has been rated, and in consultation with the television industry, rules requiring distributors of such video programming to t ransmit such rating to permit parents to block the display of video programming that they have determined is inappropriate for their children.'.

(2) Advisory committee requirements: In establishing an advisory committee for purposes of the amendment made by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Commission shall--

(A) ensure that such committee is composed of parents, television broadcasters, television programming producers, cable operators, appropriate public interest groups, and other interested individuals from the private sector and is fairly balanced in terms of p olitical affiliation, the points of view represented, and the functions to be performed by the committee;

(B) provide to the committee such staff and resources as may be necessary to permit it to perform its functions efficiently and promptly; and

( C) require the committee to submit a final r eport of its recommendations within one year after the date of the appointment of the initial members.

(c) Requirement for Manufacture of Televisions That Block Programs: Section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303), as amended by subsection (a), is fu rther amended by adding at the end the follo wing:

'(x) Require, in the case of an apparatus designed to receive television signals that are shipped in interstate commerce or manufactured in the United States and that have a picture screen 13 inches or greater in size (measured diagonally), that such apparatus be equipped with a feature de signed to enable viewers to block display of all programs with a common rating, except as otherwise permitted by regulations pursuant to section 330(c)(4).'.

(d) Shipping of Televisions That Block Programs:

(1) Regulations : Section 330 (47 U.S.C. 330) is ame nded--

(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and

(B) by adding after subsection (b) the following new subsection (c):

'(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall ship in interstate commerce or manufacture in the United States any apparatus described in sec tion 303(x) of this Act except in accordance with rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to the authority granted by that section.

'(2) This subsection shall not apply to carriers transporting apparatus referred to in paragraph (1) without trading in it.

'(3) The rules prescribed by the Commission under this subsection shall provide for the oversight by the Commission of the adoption of standards by industry for blocking technology. Such rules shall require that all such apparatus be able to receive the rating signals which have been tra nsmitted by way of line 21 of the vertical b lanking interval and which conform to the signal and blocking specifications established by industry under the supervision of the Commission.

'(4) As new video technology is developed, the Commission shall take such action as the Commission determines appropriate to ensure that blocking service continues to be available to consumers. If the Commission determines that an alternative blocking technology exists that--

'(A) enables parents to block programming based on identifying programs without ratings,

'(B) is available to consumers at a c ost which is comparable to the cost of techn ology that allows parents to block programming based on common ratings, and

'(C) will allow parents to block a broad range of programs on a multichannel system as effectively and as easily as technology that allows parents to block programming based on common ratings,

the Commission shall amen d the rules prescribed pursuant to section 303(x) to require that the apparatus described in such section be equipped with either the blocking technology described in such section or the alternative blocking technology described in this paragraph.'.

(2 ) Conforming amendment: Sec tion 330(d), as redesignated by subsection (d)(1)(A), is amended by striking 'section 303(s), and section 303(u)' and inserting in lieu thereof 'and sections 303(s), 303(u), and 303(x)'.

(e) Applicability and Effective Dates:

(1) < strong>Applicability of rating provision: The amendment made by subsection (b) of this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, but only if the Commission determines, in consultation with appropriate public interest groups and interested individuals from th e private sector, that distributors of video programming have not, by such date--

(A) established voluntary rules for rating video programming that contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material about which parents should be informed before it is displayed to children, and such rules are a cceptable to the Commission; and

(B) agre ed voluntarily to broadcast signals that contain ratings of such programming.

(2) Effective date of manufacturing provision: In prescribing regulations to implement the amendment made by subsection (c), the Federal Communications Commi ssion shall, after consultation with the tel evision manufacturing industry, specify the effective date for the applicability of the requirement to the apparatus covered by such amendment, which date shall not be less than two years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 55 2. TECHNOLOGY FUND.

It is the policy of the United States to encourage broadcast television, cable, satellite, syndication, other video programming distributors, and relevant related industries (in consultation with appropriate public interest groups and interested individuals from the priva te sector) to--

(1) establish a technolog y fund to encourage television and electronics equipment manufacturers to facilitate the development of technology which would empower parents to block programming they deem inappropriate for their children and to encourage the availability thereof to low income parents;

(2) report to the viewin g public on the status of the development of affordable, easy to use blocking technology; and

(3) establish and promote effective procedures, standards, systems, advisories, or other mechanisms for ensuring that users have easy and complete access to t he information necessary to effectively util ize blocking technology and to encourage the availability thereof to low income parents.

Subtitle C--Judicial Review

SEC. 561. EXPEDITED REVIEW.

(a) Three-Judge District Court Hearing: Notwith standing any other provision of law, any civ il action challenging the constitutionality, on its face, of this title or any amendment made by this title, or any provision thereof, shall be heard by a district court of 3 judges convened pursuant to the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United S tates Code.

(b) Appellate Review: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of the court of 3 judges in an action under subsection (a) holding this title or an amendment made by this title, or any provision thereof, unconsti tutional shall be reviewable as a matter of right by direct appeal to the Supreme Court. Any such appeal shall be filed not more than 20 days after entry of such judgment, decree, or order.

TITLE VI--EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS

SEC. 601. APPLICABILITY OF CONSENT DEC REES AND OTHER LAW.

(a) Appli cability of Amendments to Future Conduct

SE C. 702. PRIVACY OF CUSTOMER INFORMATION.

Title II is amended by inserting after section 221 (47 U.S.C. 221) the following new section:

'SEC. 222. PRIVACY OF CUSTOMER INFORMATION.

'(a) In General: Every tel ecommunications carrier has a duty to protec t the confidentiality of proprietary information of, and relating to, other telecommunication carriers, equipment manufacturers, and customers, including telecommunication carriers reselling telecommunications services provided by a telecommunications car rier.

'(b) Confidentiality of Car rier Information: A telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains proprietary information from another carrier for purposes of providing any telecommunications service shall use such information only for such purpose, and shall not use such information for its own marketing efforts.< p> '(c) Confidentiality of Customer Proprietary Network Information:

'(1) Privacy requirements for telecommunications carriers: Except as required by law or with the approval of the customer, a telecommunications carr ier that receives or obtains customer propri etary network information by virtue of its provision of a telecommunications service shall only use, disclose, or permit access to individually identifiable customer proprietary network information in its provision of (A) the telecommunications service fr om which such information is derived, or (B) services necessary to, or used in, the provision of such telecommunications service, including the publishing of directories.

'(2) Disclosure on request by customers: A telecommunications carrier shall disclose customer proprietary ne twork information, upon affirmative written request by the customer, to any person designated by the customer.

'(3) Aggregate customer information: A telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains customer proprietary network information by virtue of its provision of a tele communications service may use, disclose, or permit access to aggregate customer information other than for the purposes described in paragraph (1). A local exchange carrier may use, disclose, or permit access to aggregate customer information other than for purposes described in paragraph (1) only if it provides such aggregate information t o other carriers or persons on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions upon reasonable request therefor.

'(d) Exceptions: Nothing in this section prohibits a telecommunications carrier from using, disclosing, or permittin g access to customer proprietary network inf ormation obtained from its customers, either directly or indirectly through its agents--

'(1) to initiate, render, bill, and collect for telecommunications services;

'(2) to protect the rights or property of the carrier, or to protect users of those services and other carriers from fraudulent , abusive, or unlawful use of, or subscription to, such services; or

'(3) to provide any inbound telemarketing, referral, or administrative services to the customer for the duration of the call, if such call was initiated by the customer and the custom er approves of the use of such information t o provide such service.

'(e) Subscriber List Information: Notwithstanding subsections (b), (c), and (d), a telecommunications carrier that provides telephone exchange service shall provide subscriber list information gathered in its ca pacity as a provider of such service on a ti mely and unbundled basis, under nondiscriminatory and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions, to any person upon request for the purpose of publishing directories in any format.

'(f) Definitions: As used in this section:

'(1) Customer proprietary network information< /strong>: The term 'customer proprietary network information' means--

'(A) information that relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, and amount of use of a telecommunications service subscribed to by any customer of a teleco mmunications carrier, and that is made avail able to the carrier by the customer solely by virtue of the carrier-customer relationship; and

'(B) information contained in the bills pertaining to telephone exchange service or telephone toll service received by a customer of a carrier;

except that such term does not include subscriber list information.

'(2) Aggregate information: The term 'aggregate customer information' means collective data that relates to a group or category of services or customers, from which individual customer identities and characteristics have b een removed.

'(3) Subscriber list information: The term 'subscriber list information' means any information--

'(A) identifying the listed names of subscribers of a carrier and such subscribers' telephone numbers, addresses, or primary advertising classifications (as such clas sifications are assigned at the time of the establishment of such service), or any combination of such listed names, numbers, addresses, or classifications; and

'(B) that the carrier or an affiliate has published, caused to be published, or accepted for publication in any directory format.'.

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