39–006 

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’’. 


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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 


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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. 


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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. 


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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, 


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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 IDENTI- FICATION 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.—øNot 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’’ øhas the meaning given that term by section 

9.3 of the Commission’s regulations (47 C.F.R. 9.3), as 


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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. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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