House Passes PHONE Act

December 16, 2009. The House passed HR 1110 [LOC | WW], the "Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement Act of 2009", or "PHONE Act", by a vote of 418-1. See, Roll Call No. 986.

This is a bill to create a criminal prohibition of certain caller ID spoofing. That is, this bill addresses caller ID spoofing, and the associated fraud and identity theft, by amending criminal law. This is within the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) and Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC). Enforcement authority under this bills lies with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

There are also related bills that address caller ID spoofing by amending communications law. This is within the jurisdiction of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) and Senate Commerce Committee (SCC). Enforcement authority under this approach lies with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-NC) introduced HR 1110 on February 23, 2009. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), which amended and approved it on October 7, 2009. See, House Report No. 111-321.

There is a related bill, HR 1258 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009", introduced by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) on March 3, 2009, that would amend the Communications Act to prohibit transmitting certain misleading or inaccurate caller ID information in voice communications, and require the FCC to write implementing regulations within six months.

The HCC's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet (SCTI) marked up HR 1258 on October 8, 2009. See, story titled "House Communications Subcommittee Approves Truth in Caller ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,000, October 9, 2009. However, the full HCC has not marked up that bill.

The companion bill to HR 1258 in the Senate is S 30 [LOC | WW], also titled the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009". Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced it on January 7, 2009. The SCC amended and approved it on November 2, 2009.

The full Senate has yet to pass any bill related to caller ID spoofing.

HR 1110, the bill just passed by the House, would add a new Section 1041 to Title 18 (the criminal code) that would provide that "Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly uses or provides to another (1) false caller ID information with intent wrongfully to obtain anything of value; or (2) caller ID information pertaining to an actual person or other entity without that person's or entity's consent and with intent to deceive any person or other entity about the identity of the caller ... shall be punished ..."

It would define "caller ID information" as "any identifying information regarding the origination of a telephone call, including the name or the telephone number of the caller, that is transmitted with the telephone call".

Like most statutes that ban certain conduct in communications or on the internet, this bill would carve out exceptions for law enforcement and intelligence activities.

It would provide that it does not prohibit any "lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States, or any activity authorized" under Chapter 224, regarding relocation and protection of witnesses.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the Chairman of the HJC, stated in the House that "the technology needed to spoof has become readily available through the purchase of Internet telephone equipment, or through Web sites specifically set up for that purpose." See, Congressional Record, December 15, 2009, at Pages H14896-7.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the HJC, stated in the House that "Spoofing is a ploy for obtaining a victim's personal and financial information to commit identity theft and other similar fraud. It involves masking caller ID information to make a fraudulent telephone call to a recipient. Those who engage in spoofing use incorrect, fake or fraudulent caller identification to hide their identity and then obtain personal information from the victim. Call recipients unwittingly divulge their names, addresses or Social Security numbers under the mistaken belief that the caller represents a bank, a credit card company or even a court of law. All too often, a person does not know that their identity has been stolen until it's too late and the damage has been done."