Former customers of Time Warner Cable and Comcast have filed class action lawsuits in California federal court, alleging Comcast and Time Warner violated the Cable Communications Policy Act (“Act”) by retaining customer information after customers cancel services.  The lawsuits also claim that Comcast and Time Warner failed to provide clear and conspicuous annual written notices informing customers about the retention and disclosure of customer information.  

Under the Act, cable operators must provide written notice to subscribers at the time of installation, on an annual basis, and at any time upon request, of their customer information privacy policies.  Additionally, cable operators must destroy personally identifiable information when it is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected.  

The Act permits recovery of several types of monetary damages, including allowing an individual to collect $100 per day for each day of a violation or a minimum of $1,000, whichever is higher.  While this litigation is at the very beginning stages, operators should review their annual notices and ensure their privacy policies have been accurately and timely disclosed.   

If you have questions about the annual notice requirement or your company’s policies or practices, please contact Adriana Kissel at 312-372-3930 or akissel@cm-chi.com.