SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1052        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1539

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act to protect consumer privacy rights..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 166 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

Section 45. To ensure that consumer privacy rights are preserved for all residents of the Commonwealth, telecommunications providers shall:

(a)    maintain their customer telephone database internally, and under no circumstances release this information to any private entity or subcontractor; and

(b)   fully mask a customer’s telephone number when providing information on a customer’s bill payment history to any credit reporting bureau.

Violations of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $1,000 for the first offense and $5,000 for each subsequent offense.