[House Report 113-572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-572
======================================================================
ANTI-SPOOFING ACT OF 2014
_______
September 8, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Upton, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3670]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3670) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to
expand and clarify the prohibition on provision of inaccurate
caller identification information, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 3
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits....... 3
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 4
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 4
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Spoofing Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING PROHIBITION ON INACCURATE CALLER ID
INFORMATION.
(a) Communications From Outside United States.--Section 227(e)(1) of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S. C. 227(e)(1)) is amended by
inserting ``or any person outside the United States if the recipient is
within the United States,'' after ``United States,''.
(b) Text Messaging Service.--Section 227(e)(8) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S. C. 227(e)(8)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``(including a text
message sent using a text messaging service)'' before the
period at the end;
(2) in the first sentence of subparagraph (B), by inserting
``(including a text message sent using a text messaging
service)'' before the period at the end; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) Text message.--The term `text message' means a
real-time or near real-time message consisting of text,
images, sounds, or other information that is
transmitted from or received by a device that is
identified as the transmitting or receiving device by
means of a telephone number. Such term--
``(i) includes a short message service (SMS)
message, an enhanced message service (EMS)
message, and a multimedia message service (MMS)
message; and
``(ii) does not include a real-time, two-way
voice or video communication.
``(E) Text messaging service.--The term `text
messaging service' means a service that permits the
transmission or receipt of a text message, including a
service provided as part of or in connection with a
telecommunications service or an IP-enabled voice
service.''.
(c) Coverage of Outgoing-Call-Only IP-Enabled Voice Service.--Section
227(e)(8)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S. C.
227(e)(8)(C)) is amended by striking ``has the meaning'' and all that
follows and inserting ``means the provision of real-time voice
communications offered to the public, or such class of users as to be
effectively available to the public, transmitted using Internet
protocol, or a successor protocol, (whether part of a bundle of
services or separately) with interconnection capability such that the
service can originate traffic to, or terminate traffic from, the public
switched telephone network, or a successor network.''.
(d) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--Section 227(e)(3)(A) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S. C. 227(e)(3)(A)) is amended by striking
``Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the
Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, the Commission'' and inserting
``The Commission''.
(2) Deadline.--The Federal Communications Commission shall
prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made by this
section not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 6 months after the date on which the Federal
Communications Commission prescribes regulations to implement the
amendments made by this section.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 3670, the ``Anti-Spoofing Act of 2013,'' amends the
Communications Act of 1934 to expand and clarify the
prohibition on the provision of inaccurate caller
identification information.
Background and Need for Legislation
Spoofing is the practice where a person making a call can
intentionally falsify the telephone number or name that appears
on the Caller ID of the party they are calling. While there are
accepted legitimate purposes for altering Caller ID data,
spoofing can be used for malicious or illegal purposes, such as
phishing for sensitive personal information or falsely
reporting a crime in order to generate a police response.
Consumers are subject to spoofing attacks that seek to gain
sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, passwords,
and the like. These attacks are increasingly generated by scam
artists operating overseas. The Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009
prohibits spoofing voice call identifying information for the
purposes of defrauding or otherwise causing harm. In response
to changing consumer habits and communications options, H.R.
3670 extends these existing prohibitions on spoofing for voice
calls to include callers outside the United States as well as
text messages. As text messaging becomes more and more
prevalent, the opportunity for mischief through spoofing grows.
The Anti-Spoofing Act also updates the definition of ``IP-
enabled voice service'' to include outgoing-call-only voice
over Internet protocol (VOIP) services.
Committee Consideration
On July 24, 2014, the Subcommittee on Communications and
Technology held a hearing on H.R. 3670. Witnesses included one
of the bill's sponsors, Representative Grace Meng, and Harold
Feld, Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge.
On July 29 and 30, 2014, the Committee on Energy and
Commerce met in open markup session, to consider H.R. 3670.
H.R. 3670 was ordered favorably reported to the House, as
amended, by voice vote.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto.
There were no record votes taken in connection with ordering
H.R. 3670 reported. A motion by Mr. Upton to order H.R. 3670
reported to the House, as amended, was agreed to by a voice
vote.
Committee Oversight Findings
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee held hearings and made
findings that are reflected in this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
The goal and objective of H.R. 3670 is to expand the Truth
in Caller ID Act of 2009 to include text messaging and text
message services.
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R.
3670 would result in no new or increased budget authority,
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits
In compliance with clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI
of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee
finds that H.R. 3670 contains no earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits.
Committee Cost Estimate
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Congressional Budget Office Estimate
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 20, 2014.
Hon. Fred Upton,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3670, the Anti-
Spoofing Act of 2014.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Sunshine
(For Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3670--Anti-Spoofing Act of 2014
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3670 would have a
negligible effect on net discretionary spending over the 2015-
2019 period. Enacting H.R. 3670 would not affect direct
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do
not apply.
Under current law, entities are prohibited from
transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller identification
information. H.R. 3670 would broaden that prohibition to
include text messages and certain Voice-over-Internet-Protocol
services as well.
Based on information from the Federal Communications
Commission, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3670 would
cost less than $500,000 for rulemaking activities required
under the bill. The commission is authorized to collect fees
sufficient to cover its annual appropriation; therefore, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 3670 would have a negligible
net effect on discretionary spending, assuming appropriation
action consistent with that authority.
H.R. 3670 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Susan Willie.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 3670 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 3670
specifically directs to be completed one rule making within the
meaning of 5 U.S. C. 551.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides the short title of the ``Anti-Spoofing
Act of 2013.''
Section 2. Expanding and clarifying prohibition on inaccurate caller ID
information
Section 2(a) extends the prohibition of knowingly
transmitting false identification information to include
callers outside of the United States.
Section 2(b) extends the existing prohibitions on falsified
caller identification information to include text messages.
This subsection also defines the terms ``text message'' and
``text messaging service.'' Importantly, this section only
applies to text messages sent using ten-digit telephone
numbers, not messages sent using other addressing mechanisms,
including social media messaging services.
Section 2(c) amends the current definition of IP-enabled
voice service to include outgoing-call-only IP-enabled voice
service.
Sections 2(d) and 2(e) set forth the deadlines and
effective dates for Commission action.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--COMMON CARRIERS
PART I--COMMON CARRIER REGULATION
* * * * * * *
SEC. 227. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(e) Prohibition on Provision of Inaccurate Caller
Identification Information.--
(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person
within the United States, or any person outside the
United States if the recipient is within the United
States, in connection with any telecommunications
service or IP-enabled voice service, to cause any
caller identification service to knowingly transmit
misleading or inaccurate caller identification
information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or
wrongfully obtain anything of value, unless such
transmission is exempted pursuant to paragraph (3)(B).
* * * * * * *
(3) Regulations.--
(A) In general.--[Not later than 6 months
after the date of enactment of the Truth in
Caller ID Act of 2009, the Commission] The
Commission shall prescribe regulations to
implement this subsection.
* * * * * * *
(8) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection:
(A) Caller identification information.--The
term ``caller identification information''
means information provided by a caller
identification service regarding the telephone
number of, or other information regarding the
origination of, a call made using a
telecommunications service or IP-enabled voice
service (including a text message sent using a
text messaging service).
(B) Caller identification service.--The term
``caller identification service'' means any
service or device designed to provide the user
of the service or device with the telephone
number of, or other information regarding the
origination of, a call made using a
telecommunications service or IP-enabled voice
service (including a text message sent using a
text messaging service). Such term includes
automatic number identification services.
(C) IP-enabled voice service.--The term ``IP-
enabled voice service'' [has the meaning given
that term by section 9.3 of the Commission's
regulations (47 C.F.R. 9.3), as those
regulations may be amended by the Commission
from time to time.] means the provision of
real-time voice communications offered to the
public, or such class of users as to be
effectively available to the public,
transmitted using Internet protocol, or a
successor protocol, (whether part of a bundle
of services or separately) with interconnection
capability such that the service can originate
traffic to, or terminate traffic from, the
public switched telephone network, or a
successor network.
(D) Text message.--The term ``text message''
means a real-time or near real-time message
consisting of text, images, sounds, or other
information that is transmitted from or
received by a device that is identified as the
transmitting or receiving device by means of a
telephone number. Such term--
(i) includes a short message service
(SMS) message, an enhanced message
service (EMS) message, and a multimedia
message service (MMS) message; and
(ii) does not include a real-time,
two-way voice or video communication.
(E) Text messaging service.--The term ``text
messaging service'' means a service that
permits the transmission or receipt of a text
message, including a service provided as part
of or in connection with a telecommunications
service or an IP-enabled voice service.
* * * * * * *