Privacy.
Sacramento City Code § 5.28.1440
in effect5.28.1440 Privacy.
Each franchisee, and its officers, agents, employees, contractors and subcontractors, shall respect, refrain from invading, and take affirmative action to prevent violation of the privacy of subscribers served by the cable television system and others.
A. Neither the franchisee nor any other person, agency, or entity shall tap, or arrange for the tapping or monitoring of any cable, line, signal input device or subscriber outlet or receiver for any purpose, whatsoever, except that the franchisee may conduct tests of the functioning of the system where necessary in order to ensure proper maintenance of the system and to collect performance data for agencies regulating the quality of signals, and the franchisee may conduct system-wide or individually addressed "sweeps" for the sole purpose of verifying system integrity (including individual security system integrity) controlling return path transmissions, billing for pay services, or collecting aggregate data on viewing patterns by channel. "Tapping" means observing a communications signal exchange where the observer is neither of the communicating parties, whether the exchange is observed by visual, aural or electronic means, for any purpose whatsoever. The provision of interactive services shall not be construed to be "tapping" or "monitoring" under this subsection.
B. The franchisee shall not place in any private residence or in any institution any equipment capable of two-way communications without the written consent of the subscriber, and shall not utilize the two-way communications capability of the system for subscriber surveillance of any kind without the written consent of the subscriber specifying how the data collected will be used and by whom. Tenants who occupy premises connected by the system shall be deemed to be subscribers within the meaning of this subsection regardless of who actually pays for the service. The written consents shall be, and shall show on their face that they are, revocable by the subscriber at any time by written communication mailed by the subscriber to the franchisee. No penalty shall be invoked for a subscriber's failure to provide a written consent or for his or her revocation thereof, and all written consents shall so state on their face. The franchisee shall not make such written consent a condition precedent to receipt by a subscriber of noninteractive service. The provisions of this subsection shall not be deemed to require consent as a condition precedent to system-wide or individually addressed "sweeps" for the sole purpose of verifying system integrity, controlling return-path transmission, billing for pay services, or collecting aggregate data on viewing patterns by channel.
C. No cable, line, wire, amplifier, convertor, or other piece of equipment associated with cable television system services shall be attached to any residence or other property of a citizen (except within streets) without first securing the written permission of the owner or tenant of the property. If such permission is later revoked, whether by the original or a subsequent owner or tenant, the franchisee shall remove forthwith all of the equipment and promptly restore the property to its original condition. The franchisee shall perform all installations in a workmanlike manner and shall be responsible for any damage to residences or other property caused by the installation.
D. No franchisee or officer, agent or employee thereof shall sell, or otherwise make available, lists of the names and addresses of its subscribers, or any list which identifies, by name or otherwise individual subscriber viewing habits, to any person, agency, or entity for any purpose whatsoever; except that the franchisee shall, upon request, provide lists of names and addresses of its subscribers to authorized representatives of the cable television commission when the board of directors of the commission deems such information necessary for performance of the regulatory functions of the commission. Names and addresses of subscribers within the possession of the commission shall not be subject to public inspection or review.
E. A franchisee may release the number of subscribers but only as a total number and as a percentage of the potential subscribers within the franchise area. When indicating the number of subscribers viewing a particular channel, a franchisee shall indicate only the total number
of subscribers viewing during the relevant time and, the percentage of all subscribers which they represent, but not the identity of any subscriber.
F. No polls or other two-way responses of subscribers shall be conducted whether for commercial purposes, in connection with community use, or otherwise unless the program of which the poll is a part contains an explicit disclosure of the nature, purpose, and prospective use of the results of the poll. The franchisee shall supervise and monitor all polls in which responses are received through the cable television system, and shall adopt and enforce measures which ensure that personally identifiable information concerning a subscriber, including his or her viewing habits and response or responses to the inquiry or inquiries, is not received by any third party, including the party sponsoring the poll.
G. A franchisee shall not tabulate any test results, nor permit the use of the system for such tabulation, which would reveal the commercial product preferences or opinions of individual subscribers, members of their families or their invitees, licensees or employees, without advance written authorization by the subscriber. (Prior code § 20.06.538)
Source: City of Sacramento, Sacramento City Code (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-11081Fetched: 10/24/2026