Can I use third-party customer service tools that collect personal information in Kentucky? What are the requirements?

Requirements for Using Third-Party Customer Service Tools in Kentucky

If you plan to use third-party customer service tools that collect personal information in Kentucky, you must comply with the state’s laws and regulations. Here are some relevant documents and requirements:

1. Employee access to or use of federal tax information; required criminal background check. [Current] 803 KAR 5:005. This administrative regulation establishes guidelines for criminal background checks for prospective and current employees, including contract staff, with access to or use of federal tax information (FTI). If your third-party customer service tool involves employees accessing or using FTI, you must comply with this regulation.
2. Prohibited telephone solicitation acts and practices. (Effective until June 27, 2019) KRS 367.46955. This statute prohibits certain acts and practices related to telephone solicitation, including requesting payment in advance to recover lost money, using false or misleading information, and making unsolicited calls to individuals on the national Do Not Call Registry. If your third-party customer service tool involves telephone solicitation, you must comply with this statute.
3. Conditions for use of automated calling equipment. KYRS 367.461. This statute sets conditions for using automated calling equipment, including obtaining consent from the person receiving the call, providing a clear message identifying the caller and their contact information, and terminating the call within ten seconds if the person does not consent to hear a recorded message. If your third-party customer service tool involves automated calling equipment, you must comply with this statute.
4. Requirements for making telephone solicitation. KYRS 367.46953. This statute requires callers making telephone solicitations to immediately state their name, the merchant’s legal name, a telephone number or address at which the merchant may be contacted, and the town or city and state where the caller is physically located. The caller must also identify the goods, services, interest in real estate, investment or business opportunity, or type of credit being offered within the first thirty seconds of the call and discontinue the solicitation if the consumer responds in the negative. If your third-party customer service tool involves telephone solicitation, you must comply with this statute.
5. Prohibitions relating to use of automated calling equipment to solicit calls for telephone fee lines. KYRS 367.465. This statute prohibits using automated calling equipment to solicit persons to call a telephone fee line under your control. If your third-party customer service tool involves soliciting calls to a telephone fee line, you must comply with this statute.
6. Person using electronic equipment for solicitation deemed to have accepted Kentucky law. KYRS 367.46987. This statute states that any merchant, caller, or other person who uses electronic equipment within Kentucky for purposes of telephone solicitation shall, as a condition of that use, be deemed to have accepted the provisions of KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999 and of KRS Chapter 526.
7. Disclosure of ownership information for the electronic dissemination of third-party commercial recordings or audiovisual work – Minimum requirements. KYRS 367.632. This statute requires a person who owns or operates a website or online service dealing in substantial part in the electronic dissemination of third-party commercial recordings or audiovisual work, directly or indirectly, and who electronically disseminates such recordings or audiovisual works to consumers in Kentucky to clearly and conspicuously disclose their true and correct name, physical address, telephone number, and e-mail address on their website or online service in a location readily accessible to a consumer using or visiting the website or online service.

If your third-party customer service tool involves collecting personal information, you must also comply with Kentucky’s data privacy laws, including the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act and the Kentucky Data Breach Notification Act. These laws require businesses to take reasonable steps to protect personal information and notify individuals in the event of a data breach.

Conclusion

To use third-party customer service tools that collect personal information in Kentucky, you must comply with the state’s laws and regulations, including those related to criminal background checks, telephone solicitation, automated calling equipment, and data privacy.

Jurisdiction

Kentucky

• Privacy