§ 5711. Federal Trade Commission regulations
(a)
In general
(1)
Advertising regulations
The Commission shall prescribe rules in accordance with this subsection to prohibit unfair and deceptive acts and practices in any advertisement for pay-per-call services. Such rules shall require that the person offering such pay-per-call services—
(A)
clearly and conspicuously disclose in any advertising the cost of the use of such telephone number, including the total cost or the cost per minute and any other fees for that service and for any other pay-per-call service to which the caller may be transferred;
(B)
in the case of an advertisement which offers a prize or award or a service or product at no cost or for a reduced cost, clearly and conspicuously disclose the odds of being able to receive such prize, award, service, or product at no cost or reduced cost, or, if such odds are not calculable in advance, disclose the factors determining such odds;
(C)
in the case of an advertisement that promotes a service that is not operated or expressly authorized by a Federal agency but that provides information on a Federal program, include at the beginning of such advertisement a clear disclosure that the service is not authorized, endorsed, or approved by any Federal agency;
(D)
shall not direct such advertisement at children under the age of 12, unless such service is a bona fide educational service;
(E)
in the case of advertising directed primarily to individuals under the age of 18, clearly and conspicuously state in such advertising that such individual must have the consent of such individual’s parent or legal guardian for the use of such services;
(F)
be prohibited from using advertisements that emit electronic tones which can automatically dial a pay-per-call telephone number;
(G)
ensure that, whenever the number to be called is shown in television and print media advertisements, the charges for the call are clear and conspicuous and (when shown in television advertisements) displayed for the same duration as that number is displayed;
(H)
in delivering any telephone message soliciting calls to a pay-per-call service, specify clearly, and at no less than the audible volume of the solicitation, the total cost and the cost per minute and any other fees for that service and for any other pay-per-call service to which the caller may be transferred; and
(2)
Pay-per-call service standards
The Commission shall prescribe rules to require that each provider of pay-per-call services—
(A)
include in each pay-per-call message an introductory disclosure message that—
(B)
enable the caller to hang up at or before the end of the introductory message without incurring any charge whatsoever;
(C)
not direct such services at children under the age of 12, unless such service is a bona fide educational service;
(E)
disable any bypass mechanism which allows frequent callers to avoid listening to the disclosure message described in subparagraph (A) after the institution of any price increase and for a period of time sufficient to give such frequent callers adequate and sufficient notice of the price change;
(F)
be prohibited from providing pay-per-call services through an 800 number or other telephone number advertised or widely understood to be toll free;
(G)
be prohibited from billing consumers in excess of the amounts described in the introductory message and from billing for services provided in violation of the rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to this section;
(H)
ensure that any billing statement for such provider’s charges shall—
(3)
Access to information
The Commission shall by rule require a common carrier that provides telephone services to a provider of pay-per-call services to make available to the Commission any records and financial information maintained by such carrier relating to the arrangements (other than for the provision of local exchange service) between such carrier and any provider of pay-per-call services.
(4)
Evasions
The rules issued by the Commission under this section shall include provisions to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices that evade such rules or undermine the rights provided to customers under this subchapter, including through the use of alternative billing or other procedures.
(5)
Exemptions
The regulations prescribed by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) may exempt from the requirements of such paragraph—
(6)
Consideration of other rules required
In conducting a proceeding under this section, the Commission shall consider requiring, by rule or regulation, that providers of pay-per-call services—
(7)
Special rule for infrequent publications
The rules prescribed by the Commission under subparagraphs (A) and (G) of paragraph (1) may permit, in the case of publications that are widely distributed, that are printed annually or less frequently, and that have an established policy of not publishing specific prices, advertising that in lieu of the cost disclosures required by such subparagraphs, clearly and conspicuously disclose that use of the telephone number may result in a substantial charge.
(c)
Enforcement
Any violation of any rule prescribed under subsection (a) of this section shall be treated as a violation of a rule respecting unfair or deceptive acts or practices under section
45 of this title. Notwithstanding section
45
(a)(2) of this title, communications common carriers shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission for purposes of this subchapter.