19.250.020 - Reasonable investigation required -- Consent. - Washington Statutes

Reasonable investigation required — Consent.

(1) A directory provider shall not include any phone number that belongs to a Washington state resident in any directory of any form, or sell the contents of any directory database, without first undertaking a reasonable ongoing investigation as to whether the phone number is a wireless phone number. An investigation under this section is presumed reasonable if the directory provider compares the phone number at least every thirty days against: (a) A commercially available list of central office code assignment records offered through the North American numbering plan administration or other similar service; or (b) a commercially available list of intermodal ports of telephone numbers between wireline-to-wireless ports and wireless-to-wireline ports. A directory provider also has a duty to continually use up-to-date, commercially available technology when conducting its investigation of a phone number. If an investigation reveals that the phone number is a wireless phone number, the directory provider shall not include the number in any directory of any form, or sell the contents of any directory database without first obtaining the subscriber's express, opt-in consent. The subscriber's consent must be obtained either in writing or electronically, and a receipt must be provided to the subscriber. The consent must be a separate document or located on a separate screen or web page that has the sole purpose of authorizing a directory provider to include the subscriber's wireless phone number in a publicly available directory assistance database.

     (2) In obtaining the subscriber's consent, the directory provider shall unambiguously disclose that, by consenting, the subscriber agrees to the following:

     (a) That the subscriber's wireless phone number may be sold or licensed as part of a list of subscribers and that the wireless phone number may be included in a publicly available directory assistance database;

     (b) That the subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited calls or text messages; and

     (c) That the subscriber's express, opt-in consent will be construed as consent for the subsequent publication of the wireless phone number to and by third parties in other directories or databases.

     (3) This section does not preclude a directory provider from providing a reverse phone number search service. However, a subscriber whose wireless phone number is contained in a reverse phone number search service may utilize the opt-out provisions set forth in *RCW 19.250.030.

[2008 c 271 § 4.]

Notes: *Reviser's note: RCW 19.250.030 was amended by 2009 c 401 § 2, removing the language "opt out."

Findings -- 2008 c 271: See note following RCW 19.250.005.