§551 Protection of Subscriber Privacy

Summary

Cable companies must give each subscriber a separate written notice when they sign up and at least once a year after that. The notice must plainly say what personal information is collected, how it is used, who might get it, how long it is kept, how and when the subscriber can see it, and the limits on sharing plus the subscriber’s rights to enforce those limits. If a person was already a subscriber when this rule took effect, the notice must be given within 180 days and then yearly. A cable company cannot use the cable system to collect or share a subscriber’s personal information without the subscriber’s written or electronic consent, except to deliver the service or to detect theft of service. The company may also share information as needed for service or related business, under a court order (with notice to the subscriber, and subject to the special rules below), to list names and addresses if the subscriber was allowed to opt out and no viewing or transaction details are revealed, or to certain government entities under chapters 119, 121, or 206 of title 18 (but not records showing what video a subscriber chose). Subscribers may see and correct their own personal information at reasonable times and places. Personal data must be destroyed when it is no longer needed and no requests or court orders are pending. If a company breaks these rules, an aggrieved person can sue in U.S. district court and recover actual damages but not less than liquidated damages at $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000 (whichever is higher), plus possible punitive damages and attorney fees. States and local franchising authorities may make or enforce privacy laws that match these rules. For a government court order to obtain subscriber data, the government must show clear and convincing evidence that the person is reasonably suspected of criminal activity and that the data would be important evidence, and the subscriber must be allowed to contest the request. Definitions: "personally identifiable information" — personal records that identify a person (not aggregate data); "other service" — any wire or radio communications service using a cable operator’s facilities; "cable operator" — includes companies owned, controlled by, or under common control with a cable operator that provide such services.