[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4709 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4709

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen protections for 
law enforcement officers and the public by providing criminal penalties 
  for the fraudulent acquisition or unauthorized disclosure of phone 
                                records.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2006

Mr. Smith of Texas (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Scott 
 of Virginia, Mr. Cannon, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Wilson of 
South Carolina, Ms. Herseth, and Mr. Reichert) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen protections for 
law enforcement officers and the public by providing criminal penalties 
  for the fraudulent acquisition or unauthorized disclosure of phone 
                                records.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy 
Protection Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) telephone records can be of great use to criminals 
        because the information contained in call logs may include a 
        wealth of personal data;
            (2) call logs may reveal the names of telephone users' 
        doctors, public and private relationships, business associates, 
        and more;
            (3) call logs are typically maintained for the exclusive 
        use of phone companies, their authorized agents, and authorized 
        consumers;
            (4) telephone records have been obtained without the 
        knowledge or consent of consumers through the use of a number 
        of fraudulent methods and devices that include but are not 
        limited to--
                    (A) telephone company employees selling data to 
                unauthorized data brokers;
                    (B) ``pretexting'', whereby a data broker or other 
                person represents they are an authorized consumer and 
                convinces an agent of the telephone company to release 
                the data; or
                    (C) gaining unauthorized Internet access to account 
                data by improperly activating a consumer's account 
                management features on a phone company's webpage or 
                contracting with an Internet-based data broker who 
                trafficks in such records; and
            (5) the unauthorized disclosure of telephone records not 
        only assaults individual privacy but, in some instances, may 
        further acts of domestic violence, compromise the personal 
        safety of law enforcement officers, their families, or 
        confidential informants, and undermine the integrity of law 
        enforcement investigations.

SEC. 3. FRAUD AND RELATED ACTIVITY IN CONNECTION WITH OBTAINING 
              CONFIDENTIAL PHONE RECORDS INFORMATION OF A COVERED 
              ENTITY.

    Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after section 1038 the following:
``Sec. 1039. Fraud and related activity in connection with obtaining 
              confidential phone records information of a covered 
              entity
    ``(a) Criminal Violation.--Whoever knowingly and intentionally 
obtains, or attempts to obtain, confidential phone records information 
of a covered entity, by--
            ``(1) making false or fraudulent statements or 
        representations to an employee of a covered entity;
            ``(2) making such false or fraudulent statements or 
        representations to a customer of a covered entity;
            ``(3) providing a document to a covered entity knowing that 
        such document is false or fraudulent; or
            ``(4) accessing customer accounts of a covered entity via 
        the Internet without prior authorization from the customer to 
        whom such confidential records information relates;
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, 
or both.
    ``(b) Prohibition on Sale or Transfer of Confidential Phone Records 
Information.--Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, any 
person, including any employee of a covered entity or any data broker, 
who knowingly and intentionally sells, transfers, or attempts to sell 
or transfer, confidential phone records information of a covered 
entity, without authorization from the customer to whom such 
confidential phone records information relates, shall be fined under 
this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(c) Prohibition on Purchase of Phone Records Information.--Except 
as otherwise provided by applicable law, any person who purchases 
confidential phone records information of a covered entity, knowing 
such information was obtained fraudulently or without prior 
authorization from the customer to whom such confidential records 
information relates, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not 
more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(d) Enhanced Penalties for Aggravated Cases.--Whoever violates, 
or attempts to violate, subsection (a) while violating another law of 
the United States or as part of a pattern of any illegal activity 
involving more than $100,000, or more than 50 customers of a covered 
entity, in a 12-month period shall, in addition to the penalties 
provided for in subsection (a), be fined twice the amount provided in 
subsection (b)(3) or (c)(3) (as the case may be) of section 3571 of 
this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(e) Enhanced Penalties for Use of Information in Furtherance of 
Certain Criminal Offenses.--
            ``(1) Whoever, violates, or attempts to violate, subsection 
        (a), (b), or (c) knowing that such information may be used in 
        furtherance of, or with the intent to commit, an offense 
        described in section 2261, 2261A, 2262, or any other crime of 
        violence shall, in addition to the penalties provided for in 
        subsection (a), (b), or (c), be fined under this title and 
        imprisoned not more than 5 years.
            ``(2) Whoever, violates, or attempts to violate, subsection 
        (a), (b), or (c) knowing that such information may be used in 
        furtherance of, or with the intent to commit, an offense under 
        section 111, 115, 1114, 1503, 1512, 1513, or to intimidate, 
        threaten, harass, injure, or kill any Federal, State, or local 
        law enforcement officer shall, in addition to the penalties 
        provided for in subsection (a), (b) or (c), be fined under this 
        title and imprisoned not more than 5 years.
    ``(f) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is extraterritorrial 
jurisdiction over an offense under this section.
    ``(g) Nonapplicability to Law Enforcement Agencies.--Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to prevent, hinder, or otherwise delay the 
production of confidential phone records information from a covered 
entity upon receipt of a lawful request from a law enforcement agency, 
or any officer, employee, or agent of such agency, in accordance with 
other applicable laws.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Confidential phone records information.--The term 
        `confidential phone records information' means--
                    ``(A) information that--
                            ``(i) relates to the quantity, technical 
                        configuration, type, destination, location, or 
                        amount of use of a service offered by a covered 
                        entity subscribed to by any customer of that 
                        covered entity; and
                            ``(ii) is made available to a covered 
                        entity by a customer solely by virtue of the 
                        relationship between the covered entity and the 
                        customer; or
                    ``(B) information contained in any bill, 
                itemization, or account statement related to a product 
                or service provided by a covered entity to any customer 
                of the covered entity.
            ``(2) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity'--
                    ``(A) has the same meaning given the term 
                `telecommunications carrier' in section 3 of the 
                Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153); and
                    ``(B) includes any provider of IP-enabled voice 
                service.
            ``(3) Customer.--The term `customer' means, with respect to 
        a covered entity, any individual, partnership, association, 
        joint stock company, trust, or corporation, or authorized 
        representative of such customer, to whom the covered entity 
        provides a product or service.
            ``(4) IP-enabled voice service.--The term `IP-enabled voice 
        service' means the provision of real-time 2-way voice 
        communications offered to the public, or such class of users as 
        to be effectively available to the public, transmitted through 
        customer premises equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or a 
        successor protocol, for a fee (whether part of a bundle of 
        services or separately) with 2-way interconnection capability 
        such that the service can originate traffic to, and terminate 
        traffic from, a public switched telephone network.''.

SEC. 4. SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

    (a) Review and Amendment.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the United States Sentencing Commission, 
pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United States 
Code, and in accordance with this section, shall review and, if 
appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy 
statements applicable to persons convicted of any offense under section 
1039 of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Authorization.--The United States Sentencing Commission may 
amend the Federal sentencing guidelines in accordance with the 
procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 
U.S.C. 994 note) as though the authority under that section had not 
expired.
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