AN ACT to address abuse of privacy and acts of deception from telemarketers by displaying phone numbers that are fraudulent and misrepresentative of the actual caller.

Whereas, the citizens and businesses of North Carolina claim the right of privacy and exclusive use of the phone lines and numbers for which they contract for; and

Whereas, the citizens and businesses of North Carolina claim a right of privacy and enjoyment of that privacy from telemarketers who spoof, or otherwise disguise their actual phone numbers, preventing the receiving phone from identifying who is calling; and

Whereas, the citizens and businesses of North Carolina claim some telemarketers are violating these rights and fraudulently displaying numbers which are assigned to other people, assigned to various businesses, using numbers that are not assigned to anyone (including the caller), or made up combinations of numbers and letters to disguise the real identification of the caller; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 75‑100 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(10)    A telephone number is the property of a telephone subscriber, subject to the terms and conditions of the subscriber's contract with a telephone carrier.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 75‑101(10) reads as rewritten:

(10)    Telephone solicitor. – Any individual, business establishment, business, or other legal entity doing business in this State that, directly or through salespersons or agents, makes or attempts to make telephone solicitations or causes telephone solicitations to be made. made, and any agent of that individual, business establishment, business, or legal entity. Telephone solicitor also includes any party defined as a telemarketer under the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 75‑102 reads as rewritten:

§ 75‑102.  Restrictions on telephone solicitations.

…

(i)         No telephone solicitor shall cause misleading information to be transmitted to users of caller identification technologies or otherwise block or misrepresent the origin of the telephone solicitation. solicitation or use any other alteration to the origin of the telephone solicitation that displays in a way to give the perception that the call originated from any other origin except the actual origin of the telephone solicitation. No provider of telephone caller identification services shall be held liable for violations of this subsection committed by other individuals or entities. It is not a violation of this subsection for a telephone solicitor to utilize the name and number of the entity the solicitation is being made on behalf of rather than the name and number of the telephone solicitor.

(j)         A telephone solicitor or its agent that makes telephone solicitations on its behalf, provided that the telephone solicitor ensures compliance by its agent, shall keep a record for a period of 24 months from the date a telephone solicitation is made of the legal name, any fictitious name used, the resident address, the telephone number, and the job title of each individual who makes a telephone solicitation for that telephone solicitor. If an individual who makes telephone solicitations for a telephone solicitor uses a fictitious name, the fictitious name shall be traceable only to the specific individual.

….

SECTION 4.  Article 4 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 75‑104.1.  Telephone carriers.

(a)        A telephone carrier shall not knowingly and intentionally transmit, sell, or otherwise provide the numbers of telephone subscribers to any entity the telephone carrier knows (i) will use the number to violate provisions of this Article, (ii) has previously used telephone subscriber information to violate provisions of this Article, or (iii) has previously provided the information to another entity that has violated provisions of this Article.

(b)        A telephone carrier shall not be held liable for a telemarketer's violation of G.S. 75‑102(i).

SECTION 5.  G.S. 75‑105 reads as rewritten:

§ 75‑105.  Enforcement.

…

(b)        A telephone subscriber who has received a telephone solicitation from or on behalf of a telephone solicitor in violation of this Article may bring any of the following actions in civil court:

(1)        An action to enjoin further violations of this Article by the telephone solicitor.

(2)        An action to recover five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first violation, one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the third and any other violation that occurs within two years of the first violation.

(3)        An action to recover ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each call placed in knowing violation of G.S. 75‑102(i).

….

SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to phone calls placed on or after that date.