CPNI - Protect Your Rights

"Per a posting by Steve Perkins on LinkedIn.

Why are Telecom Carriers seeking to impose limits on what their customers can share with third party consultants?

I understand that there is now language being inserted into contracts requiring customers to get permission to share the customer's CPNI and invoice information with 3rd party companies like consultants, auditors, TEM providers, etc. Have you seen this in any contracts you have seen? Does anyone care to conjecture? I have seen this in AT&T wireless, AT&T and Verizon... The codiscile is nearly verbatim language. which is raising eyebrows in and of itself. I am looking for thoughts on why this is happening. "

The FCC has recently passed new CPNI laws. The laws are strict and designed to prevent sharing personal information about a company. All carriers must provide CPNI protection language in their contracts or post it in a public location. Our CPNI language is posted on our website under the legal page and states as follows:

Protecting CPNI: Your Rights and Options

Basic privacy protection:
MASS values your business and respects our customers' right to privacy. Under state and federal law, you have a right, and MASS has a duty, to protect the confidentiality of your Customer Proprietary Network Information ("CPNI"). CPNI is information about the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, usage, and billing of your MASS service. MASS will not use or disclose your CPNI except as permitted or required by federal statute (47 U.S.C. § 222) and applicable FCC regulations (47 CFR §§ 64.2001 - 64.2009). We will use your CPNI only to provide MASS services to you or to suggest other MASS communications-related services tailored to your needs. These protections apply automatically, and you do not need to take any action in order to benefit from them.

Further options:
As a MASS customer, you have the right to impose additional restrictions on MASS’ use of your CPNI by "opting out." If you opt out, MASS cannot use your CPNI to market additional services to you. Opting out will not affect the provision of any MASS service to which you already subscribe, but it may prevent you from receiving certain information about additional services from MASS. If we do not hear from you within 30 days after you first sign up for MASS service, we will assume you do not wish to opt out. However, you can choose to opt out at any time. Your decision whether or not to opt-out will remain in effect until you change it. In order to opt out, please notify MASS in writing at 65 Broadway, Suite 1803, New York, NY 10006 Attn: Customer Service, and provide the following information: (1) Customer name, (2) Service billing address, (3) telephone number including area code, and (4) service account number. Removing consent will not affect your current Service.

From a carrier-drafted NDA for customers who are considering purchasing services from the carrier but who lack a pre-existing contractual relationship:

Company [the potential customer] agrees to use Confidential Information [disclosed by the carrier] solely in connection with the project. Company will restrict the disclosure and use of Confidential Information to its employees, agents, subcontractors and entities controlled by or controlling it who: a) have a substantive need to know such Confidential Information in connection with the project; (b) have been advised of the confidential and proprietary nature of such Confidential Information; and (c) have agreed with Company in writing to protect such Confidential Information from unauthorized disclosure. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Company must first obtain [Carrier’s] written permission prior to disclosing any of Carrier’s Confidential Information to any third-party telecommunications manager or consultant