Bill Text: NY A02581 | 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 13-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A02581 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02581-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2581

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 26, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. KIM, PAULIN, DINOWITZ, WEPRIN, ZEBROWSKI, BENE-
          DETTO, OTIS, L. ROSENTHAL, COLTON, GUNTHER, SEAWRIGHT, STECK,  BARRETT
          --  read  once  and  referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and
          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.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07080-01-3
        A. 2581                             2

     1    (d) "VoIP service" means a service that:
     2    (i)  provides  real-time  voice communications transmitted through end
     3  user equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or a successor protocol, for a fee
     4  or without a fee; and
     5    (ii) is offered to the public, or such  classes  of  users  as  to  be
     6  effectively  available  to  the  public  (whether  part  of  a bundle of
     7  services or separately); and
     8    (iii) has the capability to originate traffic to, or terminate traffic
     9  from, the public switched telephone network.
    10    3. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
    11  may be made by the attorney general in the name of  the  people  of  the
    12  state  of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue an
    13  injunction, and upon notice to the defendant, to immediately enjoin  and
    14  restrain  the  continuance of such violations; and if it shall appear to
    15  the satisfaction of the court or justice,  by  a  preponderance  of  the
    16  evidence,  that  the  defendant  has,  in fact, violated this section an
    17  injunction may  be  issued  by  such  court  or  justice  enjoining  and
    18  restraining  any  further  violation,  without  requiring proof that any
    19  person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. The court may make
    20  allowances to the attorney general  as  provided  in  paragraph  six  of
    21  subdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil prac-
    22  tice  law  and  rules. In addition to any such allowances, the court may
    23  direct restitution to any victim upon a showing of damages by a  prepon-
    24  derance  of the evidence.  In addition to any such restitution, whenever
    25  the court shall determine that a violation of this section has occurred,
    26  the court may impose a civil penalty  of  not  more  than  two  thousand
    27  dollars  per  call,  up to a total aggregate amount of not more than one
    28  hundred thousand dollars, for all calls  placed  in  violation  of  this
    29  section  within a continuous seventy-two hour period. In connection with
    30  any such proposed application, the attorney  general  is  authorized  to
    31  take  proof  and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue
    32  subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
    33    4. In addition to the right of action granted to the attorney  general
    34  pursuant  to this section, any person whose caller identification infor-
    35  mation was used in connection with a violation of this  section  or  who
    36  has  received a telephone call in violation of this section may bring an
    37  action in his or her own name to enjoin such unlawful act  or  practice,
    38  an  action  to  recover the greater of (a) his or her actual damages, or
    39  (b) an amount equal to not more than five hundred dollars per  call,  up
    40  to  a  total  aggregate  amount  of  not  more than twenty-five thousand
    41  dollars for all calls placed in  violation  of  this  section  within  a
    42  continuous seventy-two hour period; or both such actions.  The court may
    43  award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    44    5.  The  provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of a
    45  law enforcement unit acting within the scope  of  his  or  her  assigned
    46  duties or to a court order that specifically authorizes the use of call-
    47  er identification manipulation.
    48    § 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 8303 of the civil prac-
    49  tice  law  and  rules, as amended by chapter 530 of the laws of 2002, is
    50  amended to read as follows:
    51    6. to the plaintiffs in an action or proceeding brought by the [attor-
    52  ney-general] attorney general under [articles] article twenty-two, twen-
    53  ty-two-A, twenty-three-A or thirty-three or section three hundred  nine-
    54  ty-one-b, three hundred ninety-nine-ppp, or five hundred twenty-a of the
    55  general business law, or under subdivision twelve of section sixty-three
    56  of  the  executive  law,  or  under article twenty-three of the arts and
        A. 2581                             3

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