TV Services

REVISED August 25, 2011

This Notice relates to our limited cable TV offering, separate from our partnership with DirecTV for satellite television.

At CenturyLink, we safeguard information we receive when we provide our Choice TV cable television service, just as we do when we provide any of our other services. The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (the Cable Act), Section 631, requires us to tell our Choice TV subscribers about our collection and use of information about them and our cable TV offering both when they sign up for service and once a year after that. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact us at privacy@centurylink.com.

In addition to this Notice, CenturyLink has a broader Privacy Policy (with an Overview and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)), that you might want to review. It describes CenturyLink's practices in collecting, using and sharing customer information more generally. Click here to access CenturyLink's Privacy Policy.

Scope of Information Collection. We collect and maintain information about our Choice TV customers so that we can provide them cable television or other services that use our cable facilities. The law permits us to collect this type of information only to provide cable or other services or to detect unauthorized use of service. To use it for other purposes, we need consent from you.

Information Collected about our Choice TV Customers. The information we collect might identify a particular person who subscribes to our cable services, although it more often reflects the activities of those who use our services in a particular household. We collect this information when someone provides it to us, such as when they sign up for service, or through our network equipment in the course of providing our services.

• Account Information Collected In Connection With Service Initiation or Delivery. In connection with service initiation or delivery, we collect name, address and telephone number; the services subscribed to and equipment used; billing and payment information; and notes regarding our communications with you. We might ask for additional information if a customer opens a CenturyLink account for other services at the same time as ordering Choice TV, or combines billing of Choice TV with other CenturyLink services. We might also gather data from voluntary surveys or interviews with our subscribers. In the case of installation of service in a rental unit, we might also have information about the landlord's permission to install the service and how the landlord wants the installation to occur, as well as the landlord's name and contact information.
• Information Collected by Choice TV Equipment. Equipment used to provide our Choice TV service also collects information, such as remote controls, set-top boxes, network portals and other subscriber equipment connected to our cable systems. Most of this information is associated with a household, rather than a particular person. Our network uses this information to allow commands to be recognized and executed, such as changing channels, reviewing listings, pausing or fast-forwarding or going back during viewing, or implementing parental controls. Information collected through these means also includes services or shows accessed or viewed, the length of viewing of any particular content, or purchases made over the system.

Uses of Information about our Customers. CenturyLink uses the information we collect to provide services that meet the needs of our customers. We also use it to maintain, repair and upgrade services, and to assure our customers are billed properly and their payments are timely credited. The information might also be used to provide our customers important service information or to provide them information about new products or services that might be of interest. If you would like not to receive marketing materials from us, please click here. We can also use the information to evaluate theft of service concerns.

We also combine information about our users for analysis of broad viewing patterns and trends. This helps us with product design and development, and allows us to keep tools such as our Programming Guide meaningful.

Disclosure of Information about our Customers. CenturyLink considers its customer information confidential. Except in certain situations, cable providers are not permitted to disclose to others information about individual subscribers without the subscriber's consent. And cable providers are required to take reasonable actions to prevent unauthorized access to such information, which CenturyLink does. CenturyLink employees are trained on their obligation to maintain the confidentiality of customer information and to prevent unauthorized access to it. When we use third parties to support our provision of service, we contractually require those third parties to use the information only for the purposes we provide it to them and to keep the information confidential and secure.

We may disclose information about specific customers without consent:

• To perform maintenance or repair services. To do so, we may make your name, address, telephone number or services and equipment information available to qualified repair contractors or engineers.
• To perform auditing, bookkeeping, billing and collection functions, we may make information available to accountants, program providers, and others engaged in maintaining, auditing, or reviewing our financial records, and in billing and collection for our services.
• To make customer name and address information available to outside vendors who support our Choice TV offering, such as cable program guide distributors, customer satisfaction polling services or system testing services.
• To comply with a court order requiring CenturyLink to provide information about a specific customer (including video programming viewed in the customer's household) to the government or a third party.
  
  
  • In the case of a court order obtained by a private party, CenturyLink can disclose personally identifiable information, including subscriber usage information, only after providing our subscribers with prior notice.
  • In the case of a court order obtained by a government entity, CenturyLink is authorized to disclose information about a specific subscriber. However, CenturyLink may not reveal a subscriber's selection of video programs unless there is a separate court proceeding where (1) the governmental entity offers clear and convincing evidence that CenturyLink's subscriber is reasonably suspected of engaging in criminal activity and that the information sought would be material evidence in the case; and (2) CenturyLink's subscriber has an opportunity to appear and contest the government's claim.
  • We are also required to comply with other types of valid legal requests such as warrants, court orders or subpoenas. Unless there is a specific requirement to do so, like the one described above, we do not provide notice to our customers of law enforcement demands for information.

• If we sell a line of business or stop providing a service, we may provide information that identifies specific subscribers to companies interested in providing the service to our customers.
• To protect our customers, employees or property in response to emergency situations and to enforce our rights under our subscription agreement and associated policies in courts or before other regulatory bodies.

Protecting Subscriber Information. CenturyLink has in place administrative, physical and technical controls designed to protect the confidentiality and security of information about our customers and to prevent unauthorized access to such information. This includes the employee training and contractual limitations addressed above (see "Disclosure of Information about our Customers"), and other practices that align with commonly adopted industry practices. Please click here to see our broader Privacy Policy and FAQs for more information about this topic and the matter of security breaches in general.

Retention of Information. CenturyLink business records that contain information about specific subscribers are retained for the period of our relationship with our subscriber and for the record retention periods imposed by our business requirements. Those business requirements also reflect legal and tax requirements.

Access to Information about You. You have a right to review the information CenturyLink maintains related to your Choice TV account. If you would like to do so, please contact us at privacy@centurylink.com.

We'll work with you to arrange a convenient time and location for your review and, if necessary, to discuss correction of the information we have about you.

Federal Law Regarding Violations of the Cable Act's Privacy Provisions. If you have any concerns about your rights or CenturyLink's practices under the Cable Act, we encourage you to contact us at privacy@centurylink.com. We'll work with you to address your concerns. The Cable Act provides that cable TV subscribers who believe their federal rights have been violated may institute civil suit in federal court, in addition to other remedies.