TECHNOLOGY - Feb. 1, 1996

Court OKs Caller ID Without PUC Restrictions: The service, which lets telephone users see a caller’s number before answering, can be launched June 1 in California without the privacy measures ordered by a state agency, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The court said the state must follow federal rules, which require display of a caller’s number to a fee-paying customer of the service unless the caller has taken steps to block the display. The court said the Federal Communications Commission acted within its authority in overriding the state’s rules. Citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding disclosure of phone numbers to police, Judge Arthur Alarcon rejected the Public Utilities Commission’s argument that privacy rights of customers with unlisted numbers would be violated.