Communications Privacy and Consumer Empowerment Act

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Consumer Privacy and Parental Empowerment

Title II: Internet Infrastructure Advancement

Communications Privacy and Consumer Empowerment Act - Title I: Consumer Privacy and Parental Empowerment - Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to commence a proceeding to: (1) determine the methods by which consumers may be enabled to have knowledge that consumer information is being collected about them, used without authorization, or sold through their utilization of telecommunications services and to exercise control over, and stop unauthorized use of, personal information; (2) determine whether such authorities can be exercised by the parents of consumers who are children; (3) propose changes in FTC regulations and recommend legislative changes to correct defects in privacy rights and remedies of parents and consumers generally; and (4) determine the methods by which parents may be enabled to block access to content via the Internet or other computer networks that promotes alcoholic or tobacco products and whether alcohol and tobacco companies maintain Internet sites that promote or market products in a manner directed at children.

(Sec. 102) Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to commence a proceeding to: (1) examine the impact of interconnected communications networks of technologies on the privacy rights and remedies of consumers of such technologies and determine the methods by which consumers may be enabled to exercise such rights and remedies; (2) determine whether common carriers have taken adequate steps to secure the communications infrastructure against unauthorized interception of communications and personal information; (3) propose changes in regulations to ensure that the effect on consumer privacy rights is considered in the introduction of new telecommunications services and that the protection of such rights and network security is incorporated in the design of, or rules regulating, such services; and (4) propose changes to regulations and recommend legislative changes to correct defects in such rights, remedies, and security.

(Sec. 103) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require Internet access providers, at the time of entering into a service agreement with a customer or at any subsequent time upon request, to offer such customer screening software designed to limit access to material that is inappropriate for children. Requires such software to be provided at no charge or for a fee that does not exceed the software's cost to the provider.

(Sec. 104) Extends certain regulations that deny equipment authorization (required for marketing) to, and the manufacture, sale, and import of, scanning receivers to scanners capable of: (1) receiving transmissions in frequencies allocated to a commercial mobile service (currently, the domestic cellular radio telecommunications service); or (2) being equipped with decoders that convert digital commercial mobile service (currently, digital cellular) transmissions to analog voice audio.

Title II: Internet Infrastructure Advancement - Makes certain duties of local exchange carriers with respect to interconnection, unbundled access, and collocation for telecommunications carriers applicable to requesting information service providers as well.

(Sec. 202) Requires the FCC to establish oversight procedures to ensure that the needs of information service providers and their customers and users of the Internet and interactive computer services are considered during coordinated network planning for interconnection of public telecommunications networks.

(Sec. 203) Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to examine, and report annually to the Congress and President on, the extent to which network reliability and data security issues impair the conduct of transactions in interstate commerce through the telecommunications networks, the Internet, or other interactive computer systems.

Prohibits the Federal Government or State governments from: (1) restricting or regulating the sale in interstate commerce of encryption or other products for improvement of data security; (2) conditioning the issuance of certificates of authentication or authority upon any escrowing or sharing of private encryption keys; or (3) establishing a licensing or other regulatory scheme that requires key escrow as a condition of regulatory approval.

Transfers to the NTIA certain functions of the Secretary of Commerce under the Export Administration Act of 1979 with respect to generally available technologies for the improvement of data security.