[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PHONE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LAMAR S. SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 8, 2006

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce the ``Law 
Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006.''
  This bipartisan legislation provides new, explicit, and strengthened 
protections for the privacy of confidential telephone records, 
including calling logs. It establishes specific criminal penalties for 
the fraudulent acquisition or disclosure of these records without 
consumer consent.
  Few things are more personal and potentially more revealing than our 
phone records. The records of whom we choose to call and how long we 
speak with them can reveal much about our business and personal lives. 
A careful study of these records may reveal details of our medical or 
financial life. It may even disclose our physical location.
  To avoid unwanted invasions of their personal privacy, millions of 
Americans already voluntarily list their phone numbers in the 
``National Do-Not-Call'' registry. Many Americans also keep their 
telephone number unlisted.
  Currently, Federal law recognizes the right of Americans to maintain 
this kind of privacy by providing some limited protections for the 
confidential information contained in calling logs. Phone companies and 
others who have a legitimate interest in having this information may 
not release it without either consumer consent or a determination that 
certain narrowly prescribed conditions exist.
  Unfortunately, recent investigations by law enforcement authorities, 
including the Chicago Police Department and the FBI, and numerous media 
reports have shattered the notion that this data is safe.
  These reports demonstrate that current Federal statutes are woefully 
inadequate to protect these records. They reveal that numerous 
companies and individuals offer to sell confidential phone records 
information to virtually anyone with no questions asked.
  The price for selling this sensitive private information is shocking. 
It averages about $100. Essentially, these companies sell the 
confidential personal information of American citizens as a commodity. 
Many of these companies have operated on the Internet under a variety 
of names. There may be several thousand additional companies or 
individuals across the U.S. who traffic in these records but who do not 
conduct business openly on the Internet.
  Alarmed at the easy access to these records, the Chicago Police 
Department and the FBI have reportedly warned their personnel to take 
steps to safeguard their phone numbers. The potential danger to 
undercover operatives concerns law enforcement officials.
  In recent weeks, several States have taken civil enforcement action 
against these kinds of companies filing suits that allege violations of 
various State unfair and deceptive trade practices statutes. In these 
suits, the evidence shows that these companies typically use a variety 
of fraudulent devices to obtain these records from employees of 
phone companies. The most common method is referred to as 
``pretexting.'' A pretexter calls the phone company and poses as 
someone who is authorized to receive the information lawfully--perhaps 
the actual phone customer or another employee of the target phone 
company. I certainly agree this conduct is an unfair and deceptive 
practice. I applaud the state and federal officials who are 
investigating and civilly pursuing these companies.

  However, I believe civil enforcement alone is not enough. New federal 
criminal penalties are needed to deter and punish these dishonest 
individuals and businesses--and to put them out of business 
permanently. The ``Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 
2006'' imposes serious criminal penalties--up to 20 years in prison--
for anyone who knowingly and intentionally obtains or attempts to 
obtain the confidential phone records of a telephone company using a 
fraudulent scheme or device.
  The bill further imposes up to 5 years imprisonment on anyone who:
  First, either sells, transfers, or attempts to sell or transfer such 
records without authorization; or
  Second, purchases such records knowing they were obtained without 
authorization.
  Most importantly, the bill provides enhanced criminal penalties for 
anyone who: (1) engages in large-scale operations to violate the law; 
or (2) discloses or uses such fraudulently obtained information in 
furtherance of various crimes of violence or intimidation. This latter 
provision ensures that the bill targets the worst offenders.
  The release of sensitive information like a phone record to an 
unauthorized individual can compromise a person's safety. Consider the 
tragic case of Amy Boyer, a young woman who was murdered in 1999.
  In Ms. Boyer's case, the murderer hired Docusearch.com to conduct a 
search and identify Amy's Social Security Number and place of 
employment. Docusearch hired a subcontractor, who posed as an employee 
of Ms. Boyer's insurance company, called Amy, and confirmed her place 
of employment. Shortly thereafter, the killer drove to her workplace 
and gunned her down as she was leaving. For its service, Docusearch 
charged her murderer $109.
  The unauthorized trade in this information not only assaults 
individual privacy but, in the wrong hands, can lead to violence and in 
the most extreme instances, even death. We must act to deter these acts 
by providing that anyone who seeks to wrongfully acquire or disclose 
these records faces serious criminal consequences.
  I urge my colleagues to join me and the other cosponsors in 
supporting this bill. It is urgently needed to preserve consumer's 
privacy rights and to protect the personal safety of law enforcement 
personnel and victims of domestic violence. Enactment of this bill will 
send a clear and emphatic signal that these breaches of privacy will no 
longer be tolerated. I look forward to the House passing this 
legislation without delay.

                          ____________________