Bill Text: NY S05266 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that a business entity may not provide false caller identification information with the intent to defraud or harass any party; provides definition of business entity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S05266 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05266-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5266

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      March 1, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business law and the civil practice law  and
          rules,  in relation to prohibiting business entities from transmitting
          false caller identification information with the intent to defraud  or
          harass any person

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  399-ppp to read as follows:
     3    § 399-ppp. Prohibition on provision of deceptive caller identification
     4  information. 1. It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  business  entity,  in
     5  connection with any telecommunications service or VoIP service, to cause
     6  any  caller  identification service to transmit false caller identifica-
     7  tion information, with the intent to defraud or harass,  when  making  a
     8  call to any person within the state.
     9    2. For purposes of this section:
    10    (a)  "Business  entity" means a corporation, association, partnership,
    11  limited liability company, limited liability partnership or other  legal
    12  entity.
    13    (b)  "Caller identification information" means information provided to
    14  an end user by a caller identification service regarding  the  telephone
    15  number  of,  or  other  information regarding the origination of, a call
    16  made using a telecommunications service or VoIP service.
    17    (c) "Caller  identification  service"  means  any  service  or  device
    18  designed to provide the user of the service or device with the telephone
    19  number  of,  or  other  information regarding the origination of, a call
    20  made using a telecommunications  service  or  VoIP  service.  Such  term
    21  includes automatic number identification services.
    22    (d) "VoIP service" means a service that:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07080-01-3
        S. 5266                             2

     1    (i)  provides  real-time  voice communications transmitted through end
     2  user equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or a successor protocol, for a fee
     3  or without a fee; and
     4    (ii)  is  offered  to  the  public,  or such classes of users as to be
     5  effectively available to  the  public  (whether  part  of  a  bundle  of
     6  services or separately); and
     7    (iii) has the capability to originate traffic to, or terminate traffic
     8  from, the public switched telephone network.
     9    3. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
    10  may  be  made  by  the attorney general in the name of the people of the
    11  state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue  an
    12  injunction,  and upon notice to the defendant, to immediately enjoin and
    13  restrain the continuance of such violations; and if it shall  appear  to
    14  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  or justice, by a preponderance of the
    15  evidence, that the defendant has, in  fact,  violated  this  section  an
    16  injunction  may  be  issued  by  such  court  or  justice  enjoining and
    17  restraining any further violation,  without  requiring  proof  that  any
    18  person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. The court may make
    19  allowances  to  the  attorney  general  as  provided in paragraph six of
    20  subdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil prac-
    21  tice law and rules. In addition to any such allowances,  the  court  may
    22  direct  restitution to any victim upon a showing of damages by a prepon-
    23  derance of the evidence.  In addition to any such restitution,  whenever
    24  the court shall determine that a violation of this section has occurred,
    25  the  court  may  impose  a  civil  penalty of not more than two thousand
    26  dollars per call, up to a total aggregate amount of not  more  than  one
    27  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  all  calls placed in violation of this
    28  section within a continuous seventy-two hour period. In connection  with
    29  any  such  proposed  application,  the attorney general is authorized to
    30  take proof and make a determination of the relevant facts and  to  issue
    31  subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
    32    4.  In addition to the right of action granted to the attorney general
    33  pursuant to this section, any person whose caller identification  infor-
    34  mation  was  used  in connection with a violation of this section or who
    35  has received a telephone call in violation of this section may bring  an
    36  action  in  his or her own name to enjoin such unlawful act or practice,
    37  an action to recover the greater of (a) his or her  actual  damages,  or
    38  (b)  an  amount equal to not more than five hundred dollars per call, up
    39  to a total aggregate  amount  of  not  more  than  twenty-five  thousand
    40  dollars  for  all  calls  placed  in  violation of this section within a
    41  continuous seventy-two hour period; or both such actions.  The court may
    42  award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    43    5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any member  of  a
    44  law  enforcement  unit  acting  within  the scope of his or her assigned
    45  duties or to a court order that specifically authorizes the use of call-
    46  er identification manipulation.
    47    § 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 8303 of the civil prac-
    48  tice law and rules, as amended by chapter 530 of the laws  of  2002,  is
    49  amended to read as follows:
    50    6. to the plaintiffs in an action or proceeding brought by the [attor-
    51  ney-general] attorney general under [articles] article twenty-two, twen-
    52  ty-two-A,  twenty-three-A or thirty-three or section three hundred nine-
    53  ty-one-b, three hundred ninety-nine-ppp, or five hundred twenty-a of the
    54  general business law, or under subdivision twelve of section sixty-three
    55  of the executive law, or under article  twenty-three  of  the  arts  and
    56  cultural  affairs  law,  or  in  an  action or proceeding brought by the
        S. 5266                             3

     1  [attorney-general]  attorney  general  under  applicable   statutes   to
     2  dissolve  a  corporation or for usurpation of public office, or unlawful
     3  exercise of franchise or of corporate right, a  sum  not  exceeding  two
     4  thousand dollars against each defendant.
     5    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
     6  have become a law.