Assembly Bill A971

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    971
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. KIM, PAULIN, DINOWITZ, WEPRIN, BENEDETTO, OTIS,
   ROSENTHAL, COLTON, 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:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 399-ppp to read as follows:
   § 399-PPP. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF DECEPTIVE CALLER IDENTIFICATION
 INFORMATION. 1. IT  SHALL  BE  UNLAWFUL  FOR  ANY  BUSINESS  ENTITY,  IN
 CONNECTION WITH ANY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE OR VOIP SERVICE, TO CAUSE
 ANY  CALLER  IDENTIFICATION SERVICE TO TRANSMIT FALSE CALLER IDENTIFICA-
 TION INFORMATION, WITH THE INTENT TO DEFRAUD OR HARASS,  WHEN  MAKING  A
 CALL TO ANY PERSON WITHIN THE STATE.
   2. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A)  "BUSINESS  ENTITY" MEANS A CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION, PARTNERSHIP,
 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP OR OTHER  LEGAL
 ENTITY.
   (B)  "CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION" MEANS INFORMATION PROVIDED TO
 AN END USER BY A CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICE REGARDING  THE  TELEPHONE
 NUMBER  OF,  OR  OTHER  INFORMATION REGARDING THE ORIGINATION OF, A CALL
 MADE USING A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE OR VOIP SERVICE.
   (C) "CALLER  IDENTIFICATION  SERVICE"  MEANS  ANY  SERVICE  OR  DEVICE
 DESIGNED TO PROVIDE THE USER OF THE SERVICE OR DEVICE WITH THE TELEPHONE
 NUMBER  OF,  OR  OTHER  INFORMATION REGARDING THE ORIGINATION OF, A CALL
 MADE USING A TELECOMMUNICATIONS  SERVICE  OR  VOIP  SERVICE.  SUCH  TERM
 INCLUDES AUTOMATIC NUMBER IDENTIFICATION SERVICES.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00894-01-5
 A. 971                              2
 
   (D) "VOIP SERVICE" MEANS A SERVICE THAT:
   (I)  PROVIDES  REAL-TIME  VOICE COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED THROUGH END
 USER EQUIPMENT USING TCP/IP PROTOCOL, OR A SUCCESSOR PROTOCOL, FOR A FEE
 OR WITHOUT A FEE; AND
   (II) IS OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC, OR SUCH  CLASSES  OF  USERS  AS  TO  BE
 EFFECTIVELY  AVAILABLE  TO  THE  PUBLIC  (WHETHER  PART  OF  A BUNDLE OF
 SERVICES OR SEPARATELY); AND
   (III) HAS THE CAPABILITY TO ORIGINATE TRAFFIC TO, OR TERMINATE TRAFFIC
 FROM, THE PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK.
   3. WHENEVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, AN APPLICATION
 MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE
 STATE  OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION TO ISSUE AN
 INJUNCTION, AND UPON NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT, TO IMMEDIATELY ENJOIN  AND
 RESTRAIN  THE  CONTINUANCE OF SUCH VIOLATIONS; AND IF IT SHALL APPEAR TO
 THE SATISFACTION OF THE COURT OR JUSTICE,  BY  A  PREPONDERANCE  OF  THE
 EVIDENCE,  THAT  THE  DEFENDANT  HAS,  IN FACT, VIOLATED THIS SECTION AN
 INJUNCTION MAY  BE  ISSUED  BY  SUCH  COURT  OR  JUSTICE  ENJOINING  AND
 RESTRAINING  ANY  FURTHER  VIOLATION,  WITHOUT  REQUIRING PROOF THAT ANY
 PERSON HAS, IN FACT, BEEN INJURED OR DAMAGED THEREBY. THE COURT MAY MAKE
 ALLOWANCES TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL  AS  PROVIDED  IN  PARAGRAPH  SIX  OF
 SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION EIGHTY-THREE HUNDRED THREE OF THE CIVIL PRAC-
 TICE  LAW  AND  RULES. IN ADDITION TO ANY SUCH ALLOWANCES, THE COURT MAY
 DIRECT RESTITUTION TO ANY VICTIM UPON A SHOWING OF DAMAGES BY A  PREPON-
 DERANCE  OF THE EVIDENCE.  IN ADDITION TO ANY SUCH RESTITUTION, WHENEVER
 THE COURT SHALL DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION HAS OCCURRED,
 THE COURT MAY IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY  OF  NOT  MORE  THAN  TWO  THOUSAND
 DOLLARS  PER  CALL,  UP TO A TOTAL AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF NOT MORE THAN ONE
 HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, FOR ALL CALLS  PLACED  IN  VIOLATION  OF  THIS
 SECTION  WITHIN A CONTINUOUS SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PERIOD. IN CONNECTION WITH
 ANY SUCH PROPOSED APPLICATION, THE ATTORNEY  GENERAL  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO
 TAKE  PROOF  AND MAKE A DETERMINATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTS AND TO ISSUE
 SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
   4. IN ADDITION TO THE RIGHT OF ACTION GRANTED TO THE ATTORNEY  GENERAL
 PURSUANT  TO THIS SECTION, ANY PERSON WHOSE CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFOR-
 MATION WAS USED IN CONNECTION WITH A VIOLATION OF THIS  SECTION  OR  WHO
 HAS  RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY BRING AN
 ACTION IN THE PERSON'S OWN NAME TO ENJOIN SUCH UNLAWFUL ACT OR PRACTICE,
 AN ACTION TO RECOVER THE GREATER OF (A) THE PERSON'S ACTUAL DAMAGES,  OR
 (B)  AN  AMOUNT EQUAL TO NOT MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER CALL, UP
 TO A TOTAL AGGREGATE  AMOUNT  OF  NOT  MORE  THAN  TWENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND
 DOLLARS  FOR  ALL  CALLS  PLACED  IN  VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION WITHIN A
 CONTINUOUS SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PERIOD; OR BOTH SUCH ACTIONS.  THE COURT MAY
 AWARD REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S FEES TO A PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.
   5. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY MEMBER  OF  A
 LAW  ENFORCEMENT  UNIT  ACTING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE MEMBER'S ASSIGNED
 DUTIES OR TO A COURT ORDER THAT SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZES THE USE OF CALL-
 ER IDENTIFICATION MANIPULATION.
   § 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 8303 of the civil prac-
 tice law and rules, as amended by chapter 530 of the laws  of  2002,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   6. to the plaintiffs in an action or proceeding brought by the [attor-
 ney-general] ATTORNEY GENERAL under [articles] ARTICLE twenty-two, twen-
 ty-two-A,  twenty-three-A or thirty-three or section three hundred nine-
 ty-one-b, THREE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE-PPP, or five hundred twenty-a of the
 general business law, or under subdivision twelve of section sixty-three
 of the executive law, or under article  twenty-three  of  the  arts  and
 A. 971                              3
 
 cultural  affairs  law,  or  in  an  action or proceeding brought by the
 [attorney-general]  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  under  applicable   statutes   to
 dissolve  a  corporation or for usurpation of public office, or unlawful
 exercise  of  franchise  or  of corporate right, a sum not exceeding two
 thousand dollars against each defendant.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.