Information Telecommunications Consumer Participate Companies Data People Eslpod

Whenever an American "consumer" (customer) makes a telephone call, "data" (information) about that call is added to the consumer proprietary network information (CPNI). All the "telecommunications companies" (companies that provide services for communication) keep track of when calls occur, which "parties" (people or organizations) participate in the call, and the "duration" (how long something lasts) of the call.

Telecommunications companies would like to use that information to "market" (increase sales through promotion) their services to consumers who might "benefit" (receive advantages) from them. Americans can choose to "opt in" (choose to participate in) or "opt out of" (choose not to participate in) programs where their CPNI data is used for marketing.

Although many people are uncomfortable with the idea that businesses and other individuals can have detailed information about all the phone calls they make, telecommunications companies need to have and "retain" (keep) the information so that they can "bill" (charge) consumers correctly.

The Telecommunications "Act" (Law) of 1996 "limits" (puts restrictions on) how the CPNI data can be shared. For example, telecommunications companies cannot share the data with "third parties" (other people or organizations) without the consumer's "consent" (agreement).

When a consumer "requests" (asks for) information about his or her own calling history, the telecommunications company normally asks for the consumer's password before sharing any data. This protects the consumer from having other people "pose as" (pretend to be) the person who made the calls.

Americans who think their calling information has been used "inappropriately" (in bad or wrong ways) can "file a complaint" (submit a statement that something is bad or wrong) with the government's Federal Communications Commission.