110 HR 5717 IH: ID U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5717 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 8, 2008 Mr. McCotter (for himself, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Meeks of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish a reward system to provide monetary awards to individuals who provide information relating to violations of the CAN–SPAM Act.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Inform and Deter Spam Act or the ID Spam Act.

2.

Reward system for information concerning violations of the CAN–SPAM Act

Section 11 of the CAN–SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7710) is amended to read as follows:

11.

Rewards for information about violations

(a)

Establishment of fund

(1)

Civil penalties

If in any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under this Act, the Commission obtains a civil penalty against any person for a violation of this Act, the amount of such civil penalty shall, on the motion or at the direction of the Commission, be added to and become part of a fund established for the providing of rewards to individuals who provide information concerning a violation of this Act. (2)

Acceptance of additional donations

The Commission is authorized to accept, hold, administer, and utilize gifts, bequests and devises of property, both real and personal, to the United States for a fund described in paragraph (1). Such gifts, bequests and devises of money and proceeds from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests and devises shall be deposited in the fund established under paragraph (1) and shall be available for the purposes of such fund as described in such paragraph. (b)

Eligibility and amount of reward

The Commission may grant a reward in an amount not to exceed $100,000 to any individual determined by the Commission to have provided valuable information concerning a violation of this Act which resulted in the imposition of a final court order against the person or persons found in violation of this Act. (c)

Reward determination sole discretion of the Commission

The Commission shall have the sole discretion to determine the eligibility for and the amount of any reward granted under this section. Any decision by the Commission relating to the granting of a reward, including whether, to whom, or in what amount shall be final and shall not be subject to judicial review. No person is authorized under this section to make any offer or promise or to otherwise bind the Commission with respect to the payment of any reward authorized under this section. (d)

No grant of immunity

The receipt of a reward under this section shall not constitute immunity from criminal liability. (e)

Unlawful To provide false information

(1)

Conduct prohibited

It shall be unlawful for any person to provide any information to the Commission that such person knows or should know to be false. (2)

Penalties

Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. Any person who violates paragraph (1) may be held civilly liable to the United States and assessed a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000. (f)

Regulations

The Commission is authorized to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the reward system authorized by this section. Such regulations may include establishing procedures for filing a claim of a reward under this section and procedures for maintaining the anonymity of informants who provide information to the Commission concerning violations of this Act.

.

3.

Study on the utility of the reward system

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission shall transmit a report to Congress on the utility of the reward system established under section 1, including the number and amount of rewards granted and the number of successful enforcement actions resulting from information reported to the Commission for which a reward was granted.