SECTIONS 630-638 - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 630-638

630. The Legislature hereby declares that advances in science and
technology have led to the development of new devices and techniques
for the purpose of eavesdropping upon private communications and that
the invasion of privacy resulting from the continual and increasing
use of such devices and techniques has created a serious threat to
the free exercise of personal liberties and cannot be tolerated in a
free and civilized society.
The Legislature by this chapter intends to protect the right of
privacy of the people of this state.
The Legislature recognizes that law enforcement agencies have a
legitimate need to employ modern listening devices and techniques in
the investigation of criminal conduct and the apprehension of
lawbreakers. Therefore, it is not the intent of the Legislature to
place greater restraints on the use of listening devices and
techniques by law enforcement agencies than existed prior to the
effective date of this chapter.

631. (a) Any person who, by means of any machine, instrument, or
contrivance, or in any other manner, intentionally taps, or makes any
unauthorized connection, whether physically, electrically,
acoustically, inductively, or otherwise, with any telegraph or
telephone wire, line, cable, or instrument, including the wire, line,
cable, or instrument of any internal telephonic communication
system, or who willfully and without the consent of all parties to
the communication, or in any unauthorized manner, reads, or attempts
to read, or to learn the contents or meaning of any message, report,
or communication while the same is in transit or passing over any
wire, line, or cable, or is being sent from, or received at any place
within this state; or who uses, or attempts to use, in any manner,
or for any purpose, or to communicate in any way, any information so
obtained, or who aids, agrees with, employs, or conspires with any
person or persons to unlawfully do, or permit, or cause to be done
any of the acts or things mentioned above in this section, is
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one
year, or by imprisonment in the state prison, or by both a fine and
imprisonment in the county jail or in the state prison. If the person
has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or
Section 632, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636, he or she is punishable by
a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by
imprisonment in the state prison, or by both a fine and imprisonment
in the county jail or in the state prison.
(b) This section shall not apply (1) to any public utility engaged
in the business of providing communications services and facilities,
or to the officers, employees or agents thereof, where the acts
otherwise prohibited herein are for the purpose of construction,
maintenance, conduct or operation of the services and facilities of
the public utility, or (2) to the use of any instrument, equipment,
facility, or service furnished and used pursuant to the tariffs of a
public utility, or (3) to any telephonic communication system used
for communication exclusively within a state, county, city and
county, or city correctional facility.
(c) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of
this section, no evidence obtained in violation of this section shall
be admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
proceeding.
(d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1994.

632. (a) Every person who, intentionally and without the consent of
all parties to a confidential communication, by means of any
electronic amplifying or recording device, eavesdrops upon or records
the confidential communication, whether the communication is carried
on among the parties in the presence of one another or by means of a
telegraph, telephone, or other device, except a radio, shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year,
or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the
person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section
or Section 631, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636, the person shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the
state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) The term "person" includes an individual, business
association, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or
other legal entity, and an individual acting or purporting to act for
or on behalf of any government or subdivision thereof, whether
federal, state, or local, but excludes an individual known by all
parties to a confidential communication to be overhearing or
recording the communication.
(c) The term "confidential communication" includes any
communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably indicate
that any party to the communication desires it to be confined to the
parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive or
administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
(d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of
this section, no evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon
or recording a confidential communication in violation of this
section shall be admissible in any judicial, administrative,
legislative, or other proceeding.
(e) This section does not apply (1) to any public utility engaged
in the business of providing communications services and facilities,
or to the officers, employees or agents thereof, where the acts
otherwise prohibited by this section are for the purpose of
construction, maintenance, conduct or operation of the services and
facilities of the public utility, or (2) to the use of any
instrument, equipment, facility, or service furnished and used
pursuant to the tariffs of a public utility, or (3) to any telephonic
communication system used for communication exclusively within a
state, county, city and county, or city correctional facility.
(f) This section does not apply to the use of hearing aids and
similar devices, by persons afflicted with impaired hearing, for the
purpose of overcoming the impairment to permit the hearing of sounds
ordinarily audible to the human ear.

632.5. (a) Every person who, maliciously and without the consent of
all parties to the communication, intercepts, receives, or assists
in intercepting or receiving a communication transmitted between
cellular radio telephones or between any cellular radio telephone and
a landline telephone shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison, or by both that
fine and imprisonment. If the person has been previously convicted of
a violation of this section or Section 631, 632, 632.6, 632.7, or
636, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding one year or in the state prison, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(b) In the following instances, this section shall not apply:
(1) To any public utility engaged in the business of providing
communications services and facilities, or to the officers,
employees, or agents thereof, where the acts otherwise prohibited are
for the purpose of construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation
of the services and facilities of the public utility.
(2) To the use of any instrument, equipment, facility, or service
furnished and used pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility.
(3) To any telephonic communication system used for communication
exclusively within a state, county, city and county, or city
correctional facility.
(c) As used in this section and Section 635, "cellular radio
telephone" means a wireless telephone authorized by the Federal
Communications Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidth
reserved for cellular radio telephones.

632.6. (a) Every person who, maliciously and without the consent of
all parties to the communication, intercepts, receives, or assists
in intercepting or receiving a communication transmitted between
cordless telephones as defined in subdivision (c), between any
cordless telephone and a landline telephone, or between a cordless
telephone and a cellular telephone shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), by imprisonment
in the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison,
or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the person has been
convicted previously of a violation of Section 631, 632, 632.5,
632.7, or 636, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail
not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine
and imprisonment.
(b) This section shall not apply in any of the following
instances:
(1) To any public utility engaged in the business of providing
communications services and facilities, or to the officers,
employees, or agents thereof, where the acts otherwise prohibited are
for the purpose of construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation
of the services and facilities of the public utility.
(2) To the use of any instrument, equipment, facility, or service
furnished and used pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility.
(3) To any telephonic communications system used for communication
exclusively within a state, county, city and county, or city
correctional facility.
(c) As used in this section and in Section 635, "cordless
telephone" means a two-way low power communication system consisting
of two parts--a "base" unit which connects to the public switched
telephone network and a handset or "remote" unit--which are connected
by a radio link and authorized by the Federal Communications
Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidths reserved for
cordless telephones.

632.7. (a) Every person who, without the consent of all parties to
a communication, intercepts or receives and intentionally records, or
assists in the interception or reception and intentional recordation
of, a communication transmitted between two cellular radio
telephones, a cellular radio telephone and a landline telephone, two
cordless telephones, a cordless telephone and a landline telephone,
or a cordless telephone and a cellular radio telephone, shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If
the person has been convicted previously of a violation of this
section or of Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 636, the person
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars
($10,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any public utility engaged in the business of providing
communications services and facilities, or to the officers,
employees, or agents thereof, where the acts otherwise prohibited are
for the purpose of construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation
of the services and facilities of the public utility.
(2) The use of any instrument, equipment, facility, or service
furnished and used pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility.
(3) Any telephonic communication system used for communication
exclusively within a state, county, city and county, or city
correctional facility.
(c) As used in this section, each of the following terms have the
following meaning:
(1) "Cellular radio telephone" means a wireless telephone
authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to operate in the
frequency bandwidth reserved for cellular radio telephones.
(2) "Cordless telephone" means a two-way, low power communication
system consisting of two parts, a "base" unit which connects to the
public switched telephone network and a handset or "remote" unit,
that are connected by a radio link and authorized by the Federal
Communications Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidths
reserved for cordless telephones.
(3) "Communication" includes, but is not limited to,
communications transmitted by voice, data, or image, including
facsimile.

633. Nothing in Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 632.7 prohibits
the Attorney General, any district attorney, or any assistant,
deputy, or investigator of the Attorney General or any district
attorney, any officer of the California Highway Patrol, any chief of
police, assistant chief of police, or police officer of a city or
city and county, any sheriff, undersheriff, or deputy sheriff
regularly employed and paid in that capacity by a county, police
officer of the County of Los Angeles, or any person acting pursuant
to the direction of one of these law enforcement officers acting
within the scope of his or her authority, from overhearing or
recording any communication that they could lawfully overhear or
record prior to the effective date of this chapter.
Nothing in Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 632.7 renders
inadmissible any evidence obtained by the above-named persons by
means of overhearing or recording any communication that they could
lawfully overhear or record prior to the effective date of this
chapter.

633.1. (a) Nothing in Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 632.7
prohibits any person regularly employed as an airport law enforcement
officer, as described in subdivision (d) of Section 830.33, acting
within the scope of his or her authority, from recording any
communication which is received on an incoming telephone line, for
which the person initiating the call utilized a telephone number
known to the public to be a means of contacting airport law
enforcement officers. In order for a telephone call to be recorded
under this subdivision, a series of electronic tones shall be used,
placing the caller on notice that his or her telephone call is being
recorded.
(b) Nothing in Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 632.7 renders
inadmissible any evidence obtained by an officer described in
subdivision (a) if the evidence was received by means of recording
any communication which is received on an incoming public telephone
line, for which the person initiating the call utilized a telephone
number known to the public to be a means of contacting airport law
enforcement officers.
(c) This section shall only apply to airport law enforcement
officers who are employed at an airport which maintains regularly
scheduled international airport service and which maintains permanent
facilities of the United States Customs Service.

633.5. Nothing in Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 632.7
prohibits one party to a confidential communication from recording
the communication for the purpose of obtaining evidence reasonably
believed to relate to the commission by another party to the
communication of the crime of extortion, kidnapping, bribery, any
felony involving violence against the person, or a violation of
Section 653m. Nothing in Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 632.7
renders any evidence so obtained inadmissible in a prosecution for
extortion, kidnapping, bribery, any felony involving violence against
the person, a violation of Section 653m, or any crime in connection
therewith.

633.6. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, and in
accordance with federal law, upon the request of a victim of domestic
violence who is seeking a domestic violence restraining order, a
judge issuing the order may include a provision in the order that
permits the victim to record any prohibited communication made to him
or her by the perpetrator.
(b) The Judicial Council shall amend its domestic violence
prevention application and order forms to incorporate the provisions
of this section.

633.8. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section to provide law enforcement with the ability to use electronic
amplifying or recording devices to eavesdrop on and record the
otherwise confidential oral communications of individuals within a
location when responding to an emergency situation that involves the
taking of a hostage or the barricading of a location. It is the
intent of the Legislature that eavesdropping on oral communications
pursuant to this section comply with paragraph (7) of Section 2518 of
Title 18 of the United States Code.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, and in
accordance with federal law, a designated peace officer described in
subdivision (c) may use, or authorize the use of, an electronic
amplifying or recording device to eavesdrop on or record, or both,
any oral communication within a particular location in response to an
emergency situation involving the taking of a hostage or hostages or
the barricading of a location if all of the following conditions are
satisfied:
(1) The officer reasonably determines that an emergency situation
exists involving the immediate danger of death or serious physical
injury to any person, within the meaning of Section 2518(7)(a)(i) of
Title 18 of the United States Code.
(2) The officer reasonably determines that the emergency situation
requires that the eavesdropping on oral communication occur
immediately.
(3) There are grounds upon which an order could be obtained
pursuant to Section 2516(2) of Title 18 of the United States Code in
regard to the offenses enumerated therein.
(c) Only a peace officer who has been designated by either a
district attorney in the county where the emergency exists, or by the
Attorney General to make the necessary determinations pursuant to
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (b) may make those
determinations for purposes of this section.
(d) If the determination is made by a designated peace officer
described in subdivision (c) that an emergency situation exists, a
peace officer shall not be required to knock and announce his or her
presence before entering, installing, and using any electronic
amplifying or recording devices.
(e) If the determination is made by a designated peace officer
described in subdivision (c) that an emergency situation exists and
an eavesdropping device has been deployed, an application for an
order approving the eavesdropping shall be made within 48 hours of
the beginning of the eavesdropping and shall comply with the
requirements of Section 629.50. A court may grant an application
authorizing the use of electronic amplifying or recording devices to
eavesdrop on and record otherwise confidential oral communications in
barricade or hostage situations where there is probable cause to
believe that an individual is committing, has committed, or is about
to commit an offense listed in Section 2516(2) of Title 18 of the
United States Code.
(f) The contents of any oral communications overheard pursuant to
this section shall be recorded on tape or other comparable device.
The recording of the contents shall be done so as to protect the
recording from editing or other alterations.
(g) For purposes of this section, a "barricading" occurs when a
person refuses to come out from a covered or enclosed position.
Barricading also occurs when a person is held against his or her will
and the captor has not made a demand.
(h) For purposes of this section, a "hostage situation" occurs
when a person is held against his or her will and the captor has made
a demand.
(i) A judge shall not grant an application made pursuant to this
section in anticipation that an emergency situation will arise. A
judge shall grant an application authorizing the use of electronic
amplifying or recording devices to eavesdrop on and record otherwise
confidential oral communications in barricade or hostage situations
where there is probable cause to believe that an individual is
committing, has committed, or is about to commit an offense listed in
Section 2516(2) of Title 18 of the United States Code, and only if
the peace officer has fully complied with the requirements of this
section. If an application is granted pursuant to this section, an
inventory shall be served pursuant to Section 629.68.
(j) This section does not require that a peace officer designated
pursuant to subdivision (c) undergo training pursuant to Section
629.94.
(k) A peace officer who has been designated pursuant to
subdivision (c) to use an eavesdropping device shall cease use of the
device upon the termination of the barricade or hostage situation,
or upon the denial by a judge of an application for an order to
approve the eavesdropping, whichever is earlier.
(l) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the
admissibility or inadmissability of evidence.

634. Any person who trespasses on property for the purpose of
committing any act, or attempting to commit any act, in violation of
Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636 shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year or in the
state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the person
has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or
Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636, the person shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year or in the
state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

635. (a) Every person who manufactures, assembles, sells, offers
for sale, advertises for sale, possesses, transports, imports, or
furnishes to another any device which is primarily or exclusively
designed or intended for eavesdropping upon the communication of
another, or any device which is primarily or exclusively designed or
intended for the unauthorized interception or reception of
communications between cellular radio telephones or between a
cellular radio telephone and a landline telephone in violation of
Section 632.5, or communications between cordless telephones or
between a cordless telephone and a landline telephone in violation of
Section 632.6, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that
fine and imprisonment. If the person has previously been convicted
of a violation of this section, the person shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or
by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) This section does not apply to either of the following:
(1) An act otherwise prohibited by this section when performed by
any of the following:
(A) A communication utility or an officer, employee or agent
thereof for the purpose of construction, maintenance, conduct, or
operation of, or otherwise incident to the use of, the services or
facilities of the utility.
(B) A state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or an
agency of the federal government.
(C) A person engaged in selling devices specified in subdivision
(a) for use by, or resale to, agencies of a foreign government under
terms approved by the federal government, communication utilities,
state, county, or municipal law enforcement agencies, or agencies of
the federal government.
(2) Possession by a subscriber to communication utility service of
a device specified in subdivision (a) furnished by the utility
pursuant to its tariffs.

636. (a) Every person who, without permission from all parties to
the conversation, eavesdrops on or records, by means of an electronic
device, a conversation, or any portion thereof, between a person who
is in the physical custody of a law enforcement officer or other
public officer, or who is on the property of a law enforcement agency
or other public agency, and that person's attorney, religious
adviser, or licensed physician, is guilty of a felony.
(b) Every person who, intentionally and without permission from
all parties to the conversation, nonelectronically eavesdrops upon a
conversation, or any portion thereof, that occurs between a person
who is in the physical custody of a law enforcement officer or other
public officer and that person's attorney, religious adviser, or
licensed physician, is guilty of a public offense. This subdivision
applies to conversations that occur in a place, and under
circumstances, where there exists a reasonable expectation of
privacy, including a custody holding area, holding area, or anteroom.
This subdivision does not apply to conversations that are
inadvertently overheard or that take place in a courtroom or other
room used for adjudicatory proceedings. A person who is convicted of
violating this subdivision shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison, or in the county jail for a term not to exceed one
year, or by a fine not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) This section shall not apply to any employee of a public
utility engaged in the business of providing service and facilities
for telephone or telegraph communications while engaged in the
construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation of the service or
facilities of that public utility who listens in to conversations for
the limited purpose of testing or servicing equipment.

636.5. Any person not authorized by the sender, who intercepts any
public safety radio service communication, by use of a scanner or any
other means, for the purpose of using that communication to assist
in the commission of a criminal offense or to avoid or escape arrest,
trial, conviction, or punishment or who divulges to any person he or
she knows to be a suspect in the commission of any criminal offense,
the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect or meaning of
that communication concerning the offense with the intent that the
suspect may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction, or
punishment is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution of any person
under Section 31 or 32.
As used in this section, "public safety radio service
communication" means a communication authorized by the Federal
Communications Commission to be transmitted by a station in the
public safety radio service.

637. Every person not a party to a telegraphic or telephonic
communication who willfully discloses the contents of a telegraphic
or telephonic message, or any part thereof, addressed to another
person, without the permission of such person, unless directed so to
do by the lawful order of a court, is punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison, or in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by
fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both fine
and imprisonment.

637.1. Every person not connected with any telegraph or telephone
office who, without the authority or consent of the person to whom
the same may be directed, willfully opens any sealed envelope
enclosing a telegraphic or telephonic message, addressed to another
person, with the purpose of learning the contents of such message, or
who fraudulently represents another person and thereby procures to
be delivered to himself any telegraphic or telephonic message
addressed to such other person, with the intent to use, destroy, or
detain the same from the person entitled to receive such message, is
punishable as provided in Section 637.

637.2. (a) Any person who has been injured by a violation of this
chapter may bring an action against the person who committed the
violation for the greater of the following amounts:
(1) Five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(2) Three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by
the plaintiff.
(b) Any person may, in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
bring an action to enjoin and restrain any violation of this chapter,
and may in the same action seek damages as provided by subdivision
(a).
(c) It is not a necessary prerequisite to an action pursuant to
this section that the plaintiff has suffered, or be threatened with,
actual damages.

637.3. (a) No person or entity in this state shall use any system
which examines or records in any manner voice prints or other voice
stress patterns of another person to determine the truth or falsity
of statements made by such other person without his or her express
written consent given in advance of the examination or recordation.
(b) This section shall not apply to any peace officer, as defined
in Section 830, while he is carrying out his official duties.
(c) Any person who has been injured by a violator of this section
may bring an action against the violator for his actual damages or
one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is greater.

637.4. (a) No state or local governmental agency involved in the
investigation or prosecution of crimes, or any employee thereof,
shall require or request any complaining witness, in a case involving
the use of force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great
bodily harm in the commission of any sex offense, to submit to a
polygraph examination as a prerequisite to filing an accusatory
pleading.
(b) Any person who has been injured by a violator of this section
may bring an action against the violator for his actual damages or
one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is greater.

637.5. (a) No person who owns, controls, operates, or manages a
satellite or cable television corporation, or who leases channels on
a satellite or cable system shall:
(1) Use any electronic device to record, transmit, or observe any
events or listen to, record, or monitor any conversations that take
place inside a subscriber's residence, workplace, or place of
business, without obtaining the express written consent of the
subscriber. A satellite or cable television corporation may conduct
electronic sweeps of subscriber households to monitor for signal
quality.
(2) Provide any person with any individually identifiable
information regarding any of its subscribers, including, but not
limited to, the subscriber's television viewing habits, shopping
choices, interests, opinions, energy uses, medical information,
banking data or information, or any other personal or private
information, without the subscriber's express written consent.
(b) Individual subscriber viewing responses or other individually
identifiable information derived from subscribers may be retained and
used by a satellite or cable television corporation only to the
extent reasonably necessary for billing purposes and internal
business practices, and to monitor for unauthorized reception of
services. A satellite or cable television corporation may compile,
maintain, and distribute a list containing the names and addresses of
its subscribers if the list contains no other individually
identifiable information and if subscribers are afforded the right to
elect not to be included on the list. However, a satellite or cable
television corporation shall maintain adequate safeguards to ensure
the physical security and confidentiality of the subscriber
information.
(c) A satellite or cable television corporation shall not make
individual subscriber information available to government agencies in
the absence of legal compulsion, including, but not limited to, a
court order or subpoena. If requests for information are made, a
satellite or cable television corporation shall promptly notify the
subscriber of the nature of the request and what government agency
has requested the information prior to responding unless otherwise
prohibited from doing so by law.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent local
franchising authorities from obtaining information necessary to
monitor franchise compliance pursuant to franchise or license
agreements. This information shall be provided so as to omit
individually identifiable subscriber information whenever possible.
Information obtained by local franchising authorities shall be used
solely for monitoring franchise compliance and shall not be subject
to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(d) Any individually identifiable subscriber information gathered
by a satellite or cable television corporation shall be made
available for subscriber examination within 30 days of receiving a
request by a subscriber to examine the information on the premises of
the corporation. Upon a reasonable showing by the subscriber that
the information is inaccurate, a satellite or cable television
corporation shall correct the information.
(e) Upon a subscriber's application for satellite or cable
television service, including, but not limited to, interactive
service, a satellite or cable television corporation shall provide
the applicant with a separate notice in an appropriate form
explaining the subscriber's right to privacy protection afforded by
this section.
(f) As used in this section:
(1) "Cable television corporation" shall have the same meaning as
that term is given by Section 216.4 of the Public Utilities Code.
(2) "Individually identifiable information" means any information
identifying an individual or his or her use of any service provided
by a satellite or cable system other than the mere fact that the
individual is a satellite or cable television subscriber.
"Individually identifiable information" shall not include anonymous,
aggregate, or any other information that does not identify an
individual subscriber of a video provider service.
(3) "Person" includes an individual, business association,
partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal
entity, and an individual acting or purporting to act for or on
behalf of any government, or subdivision thereof, whether federal,
state, or local.
(4) "Interactive service" means any service offered by a satellite
or cable television corporation involving the collection, reception,
aggregation, storage, or use of electronic information transmitted
from a subscriber to any other receiving point under the control of
the satellite or cable television corporation, or vice versa.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
ability of a satellite or cable television corporation to market
satellite or cable television or ancillary services to its
subscribers.
(h) Any person receiving subscriber information from a satellite
or cable television corporation shall be subject to the provisions of
this section.
(i) Any aggrieved person may commence a civil action for damages
for invasion of privacy against any satellite or cable television
corporation, service provider, or person that leases a channel or
channels on a satellite or cable television system that violates the
provisions of this section.
(j) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding three
thousand dollars ($3,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(k) The penalties and remedies provided by subdivisions (i) and
(j) are cumulative, and shall not be construed as restricting any
penalty or remedy, provisional or otherwise, provided by law for the
benefit of any person, and no judgment under this section shall
preclude any person from obtaining additional relief based upon the
same facts.
(l) The provisions of this section are intended to set forth
minimum state standards for protecting the privacy of subscribers to
cable television services and are not intended to preempt more
restrictive local standards.

637.6. (a) No person who, in the course of business, acquires or
has access to personal information concerning an individual,
including, but not limited to, the individual's residence address,
employment address, or hours of employment, for the purpose of
assisting private entities in the establishment or implementation of
carpooling or ridesharing programs, shall disclose that information
to any other person or use that information for any other purpose
without the prior written consent of the individual.
(b) As used in this section, "carpooling or ridesharing programs"
include, but shall not be limited to, the formation of carpools,
vanpools, buspools, the provision of transit routes, rideshare
research, and the development of other demand management strategies
such as variable working hours and telecommuting.
(c) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not
exceeding one year, or by a fine of not exceeding one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

637.7. (a) No person or entity in this state shall use an
electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a
person.
(b) This section shall not apply when the registered owner,
lessor, or lessee of a vehicle has consented to the use of the
electronic tracking device with respect to that vehicle.
(c) This section shall not apply to the lawful use of an
electronic tracking device by a law enforcement agency.
(d) As used in this section, "electronic tracking device" means
any device attached to a vehicle or other movable thing that reveals
its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals.
(e) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.
(f) A violation of this section by a person, business, firm,
company, association, partnership, or corporation licensed under
Division 3 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Business and
Professions Code shall constitute grounds for revocation of the
license issued to that person, business, firm, company, association,
partnership, or corporation, pursuant to the provisions that provide
for the revocation of the license as set forth in Division 3
(commencing with Section 5000) of the Business and Professions Code.

637.9. (a) Any person who, in the course of business, provides
mailing lists, computerized or telephone-based reference services, or
similar products or services utilizing lists, as defined, knowingly
does any of the following is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(1) Fails, prior to selling or distributing a list to a first-time
buyer, to obtain the buyer's name, address, telephone number, tax
identification number if the buyer is a forprofit entity, a sample of
the type of material to be distributed using the list, or to make a
good-faith effort to verify the nature and legitimacy of the business
or organization to which the list is being sold or distributed.
(2) Knowingly provides access to personal information about
children to any person who he or she knows is registered or required
to register as a sex offender.
(b) Any person who uses personal information about a child that
was obtained for commercial purposes to directly contact the child or
the child's parent to offer a commercial product or service to the
child and who knowingly fails to comply with the parent's request to
take steps to limit access to personal information about a child only
to authorized persons is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) Any person who knowingly distributes or receives any personal
information about a child with knowledge that the information will be
used to abuse or physically harm the child is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(d) (1) List brokers shall, upon a written request from a parent
that specifically identifies the child, provide the parent with
procedures that the parent must follow in order to withdraw consent
to use personal information relating to his or her child. Any list
broker who fails to discontinue disclosing personal information about
a child within 20 days after being so requested in writing by the
child's parent, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(2) Any person who, through the mail, markets or sells products or
services directed to children, shall maintain a list of all
individuals, and their addresses, who have requested in writing that
the person discontinue sending any marketing or sales materials to
the individual or the individual's child or children. No person who
is obligated to maintain that list shall cause any marketing or sales
materials, other than those that are already in the process of
dissemination, to be sent to any individual's child or children,
after that individual has made that written request. Any person who
is subject to the provisions of this paragraph, who fails to comply
with the requirements of this paragraph or who violates the
provisions of this paragraph is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(e) The following shall be exempt from subdivisions (a) and (b):
(1) Any federal, state, or local government agency or law
enforcement agency.
(2) The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
(3) Any educational institution, consortia, organization, or
professional association, which shall include, but not be limited to,
the California community colleges; the California State University,
and each campus, branch, and function thereof; each campus, branch,
and function of the University of California; the California Maritime
Academy; or any independent institution of higher education
accredited by an agency recognized by the federal Department of
Education. For the purposes of this paragraph, "independent
institution of higher education" means any nonpublic higher education
institution that grants undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, or
both undergraduate and graduate degrees, is formed as a nonprofit
corporation in this state, and is accredited by an agency recognized
by the federal Department of Education; or any private postsecondary
vocational institution registered, approved, or exempted by the
Bureau of Private Postsecondary Vocational Education.
(4) Any nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under
Section 23701d of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(f) As used in this section:
(1) "Child" means a person who is under 16 years of age.
(2) "Parent" shall include a legal guardian.
(3) "Personal information" means any information that identifies a
child and that would suffice to locate and contact the child,
including, but not limited to, the name, postal or electronic mail
address, telephone number, social security number, date of birth,
physical description of the child, or family income.
(4) "List" may include, but is not limited to, a collection of
name and address records of individuals sharing a common interest,
purchase history, demographic profile, membership, or affiliation.

638. (a) Any person who purchases, sells, offers to purchase or
sell, or conspires to purchase or sell any telephone calling pattern
record or list, without the written consent of the subscriber, or any
person who procures or obtains through fraud or deceit, or attempts
to procure or obtain through fraud or deceit any telephone calling
pattern record or list shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by both a fine and
imprisonment. If the person has previously been convicted of a
violation of this section, he or she is punishable by a fine not
exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by both a fine and
imprisonment.
(b) Any personal information contained in a telephone calling
pattern record or list that is obtained in violation of this section
shall be inadmissible as evidence in any judicial, administrative,
legislative, or other proceeding except when that information is
offered as proof in an action or prosecution for a violation of this
section, or when otherwise authorized by law, in any criminal
prosecution.
(c) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Person" includes an individual, business association,
partnership, limited partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, or other legal entity.
(2) "Telephone calling pattern record or list" means information
retained by a telephone company that relates to the telephone number
dialed by the subscriber, or other person using the subscriber's
telephone with permission, or the incoming number of a call directed
to the subscriber, or other data related to such calls typically
contained on a subscriber telephone bill such as the time the call
started and ended, the duration of the call, any charges applied, and
any information described in subdivision (a) of Section 2891 of the
Public Utilities Code whether the call was made from or to a
telephone connected to the public switched telephone network, a
cordless telephone, as defined in Section 632.6, a telephony device
operating over the Internet utilizing voice over Internet protocol, a
satellite telephone, or commercially available interconnected mobile
phone service that provides access to the public switched telephone
network via a mobile communication device employing radiowave
technology to transmit calls, including cellular radiotelephone,
broadband Personal Communications Services, and digital Specialized
Mobile Radio.
(3) "Telephone company" means a telephone corporation as defined
in Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code or any other person that
provides residential or commercial telephone service to a subscriber
utilizing any of the technologies or methods enumerated in paragraph
(2).
(4) For purposes of this section, "purchase" and "sell" shall not
include information provided to a collection agency or assignee of
the debt by the telephone corporation, and used exclusively for the
collection of the unpaid debt assigned by the telephone corporation,
provided that the collection agency or assignee of the debt shall be
liable for any disclosure of the information that is in violation of
this section.
(d) An employer of, or entity contracting with, a person who
violates subdivision (a) shall only be subject to prosecution
pursuant to that provision if the employer or contracting entity
knowingly allowed the employee or contractor to engage in conduct
that violated subdivision (a).
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that telephone
companies maintain telephone calling pattern records or lists in the
strictest confidence, and protect the privacy of their subscribers
with all due care. While it is not the intent of the Legislature in
this act to preclude the sharing of information that is currently
allowed by both state and federal laws and rules governing those
records, it is the Legislature's intent in this act to preclude any
unauthorized purchase or sale of that information.
(f) This section shall not be construed to prevent a law
enforcement or prosecutorial agency, or any officer, employee, or
agent thereof from obtaining telephone records in connection with the
performance of the official duties of the agency consistent with any
other applicable state and federal law.
(g) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under any
other provision of law.
(h) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that,
notwithstanding the prohibition on specific means of making available
or obtaining personal calling records pursuant to this section, the
disclosure of personal calling records through any other means is no
less harmful to the privacy and security interests of Californians.
This section is not intended to limit the scope or force of Section
2891 of the Public Utilities Code in any way.