South Carolina Enacts Telephone Privacy Protection Act

South Carolina has enacted the Telephone Privacy Protection Act, which restricts telephone solicitations that target South Carolina residences or mobile phone numbers with state area codes.

The Act largely parallels federal legal prohibitions, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, and gives state officials broad authority to take enforcement action administratively and in court, including the imposition of penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.  It prohibits telephone solicitors from making calls or sending text messages before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time, and from calling persons listed on the National Do Not Call Registry or who have otherwise indicated they do not want to be contacted.  Telephone solicitors are also required to identify themselves and provide other certain information at the outset of a call.

Similar to the federal Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, the South Carolina law also prohibits solicitors from “spoofing” telephone numbers by displaying false or misleading caller ID information with the intent to defraud, harass, or wrongfully obtain anything of value from the receiving party, including a specific prohibition on displaying a local area code (with the requisite intent) if the person making the call does not maintain a physical presence in the state.