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[House Report 109-489]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-489

======================================================================

 
                     TRUTH IN CALLER ID ACT OF 2006

                                _______
                                

  June 6, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Barton of Texas, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5126]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 5126) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to 
prohibit manipulation of 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
Amendment........................................................     1
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     4
Committee Consideration..........................................     4
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     4
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     6
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     6
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     6
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     7

                               Amendment

  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 ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION REGARDING MANIPULATION OF CALLER IDENTIFICATION 
                    INFORMATION.

  Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is 
amended--
          (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as 
        subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and
          (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsection:
  ``(e) Prohibition on Provision of Deceptive Caller Identification 
Information.--
          ``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person within 
        the United States, in connection with any telecommunications 
        service or VOIP service, to cause any caller identification 
        service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller 
        identification information, with the intent to defraud or cause 
        harm.
          ``(2) Protection for blocking caller identification 
        information.--Nothing in this subsection may be construed to 
        prevent or restrict any person from blocking the capability of 
        any caller identification service to transmit caller 
        identification information.
          ``(3) Regulations.--Not later than 6 months after the 
        enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall prescribe 
        regulations to implement this subsection.
          ``(4) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection:
                  ``(A) Caller identification information.--The term 
                `caller identification information' means information 
                provided to an end user 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 VOIP 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 VOIP service. 
                Such term includes automatic number identification 
                services.
                  ``(C) VOIP service.--The term `VOIP service' means a 
                service that--
                          ``(i) provides real-time voice communications 
                        transmitted through end user equipment using 
                        TCP/IP protocol, or a successor protocol, for a 
                        fee or without a fee;
                          ``(ii) is offered to the public, or such 
                        classes of users as to be effectively available 
                        to the public (whether part of a bundle of 
                        services or separately); and
                          ``(iii) has the capability to originate 
                        traffic to, and terminate traffic from, the 
                        public switched telephone network.
          ``(5) Savings provision.--Nothing in this Act may be 
        construed to affect or alter the application of the 
        Commission's regulations regarding the requirements for 
        transmission of caller identification information for 
        telemarketing calls, issued pursuant to the Telephone Consumer 
        Protection Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-243) and the amendments 
        made by such Act.''.

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 5126, the ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 
2006'' is to prohibit the manipulation of caller identification 
information with the intent to defraud or cause harm.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Most companies that offer telecommunications and Voice over 
Internet-Protocol (VOIP) services also offer their customers 
caller identification (caller ID) service that provides to the 
consumer the telephone number of the incoming call and the name 
of the subscriber to such number. Unfortunately, increasingly 
there are callers who are misleading citizens with incorrect 
caller ID information. This practice is known as caller ID 
``spoofing'' and occurs when a caller masquerades as someone 
else by falsifying the name or number that appears on the 
recipient's caller ID display.
    Caller ID spoofing can make a call appear to come from any 
phone number the caller wishes. For instance, the American 
Association of Retired Persons issued a ``scam alert'' when 
someone posing to be a courthouse employee called a Sterling, 
Michigan woman claiming that she had missed jury duty that 
week. The caller threatened that a warrant was being issued for 
her arrest and then asked her to confirm her Social Security 
number, to verify her identity. This scam appeared even more 
real when the con artist used a caller ID ``spoofing'' product 
which allowed the con to display the name and number of the 
courthouse on the caller ID box.
    Today, caller ID works through the use of Signalling System 
7 (SS7), which is the standard for connecting phone companies' 
networks world-wide. SS7 allows the caller's exchange to send a 
Calling Party Number (CPN), which includes the number of the 
caller and whether or not the caller wants their number to be 
blocked. By Federal Communications Commission (FCC or 
Commission) regulation, when a telecommunications carrier uses 
SS7 to set up a call, it must transmit the CPN and its 
associated privacy indicator for that call to the connecting 
carrier. By regulation, consumers also have the right to 
conceal their CPN by dialing *67.
    VOIP networks are not currently subject to the same caller 
ID Commission regulations that apply to traditional telephony. 
The Commission has not set a standard way for VOIP providers to 
handle the transmission of caller ID information to a called 
party. Additionally, VOIP services give the calling party far 
more control over the content and transmission of caller ID. 
VOIP customers are able to control the features of their phone 
service through their web settings. Some VOIP companies offer 
customers the ability to change the caller ID information that 
is distributed when a call is made. Other VOIP companies 
restrict or block the ability of their customers to change the 
calling party's phone number.
    It has been possible for a number of years to ``spoof'' or 
manipulate caller ID, although it required specific phone 
connections and expensive equipment. Today, however, with 
advances in technology and the advent of VOIP, it has become 
easier for callers to transmit any caller ID information the 
calling party chooses. Moreover, there are a number of online 
websites that offer spoofing services, eliminating the need for 
any specialized hardware. Not only do these services mask the 
correct caller ID information, but many offer voice scrambling 
services which can make the caller sound like someone of the 
opposite sex. The Commission recently initiated an 
investigation of these online websites that offer caller ID 
spoofing services. That investigation is ongoing.
    Although these caller ID spoofing services promote 
themselves for use in ``prank calls'' or for ``entertainment 
purposes only,'' such services can be easily accessed and used 
by criminals and identity thieves, or others who wish to harm 
or deceive someone. Additionally, many business functions, from 
credit card verification to automatic call routing, opt to use 
caller ID for security purposes, which spoofing can render 
useless.
    There are, however, legitimate reasons to alter caller ID 
information. For example, the Committee received a letter from 
the National Network to End Domestic Violence which explained 
that many phones are set to refuse blocked or private calls. It 
therefore becomes important for domestic violence shelters to 
transmit caller ID information so a call is completed, but it 
may be necessary to alter the caller ID information to ensure 
the safety of the domestic violence victims.
    Although there are specific caller ID rules that govern how 
telemarketers may transmit caller ID information, under current 
FCC regulations, there is no broad mandate that all callers 
transmit accurate caller ID information. In fact, there is 
nothing that prohibits the deceptive manipulation of caller ID. 
H.R. 5126, the ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006'' remedies this 
problem.

                                Hearings

    The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet 
held a hearing on H.R. 5126, the ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 
2006'' on May 18, 2006. The Subcommittee received testimony 
from: Mr. Tom Navin, Wireline Bureau Chief, Federal 
Communications Commission; Ms. Staci Pies, Vice President, 
PointOne Communications, on behalf of Voice on the Net (VON) 
Coalition; Mr. Lance James, Chief Technology Officer, Secure 
Science Corporation; and Mr. Marc Rotenberg, Executive 
Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center.

                        Committee Consideration

    On Wednesday, May 24, 2006, the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce met in open markup session and ordered H.R. 5126 
reported to the House, amended, by a voice vote, a quorum being 
present.

                            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. 5126, the ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006'' reported. A 
motion by Mr. Barton to order H.R. 5126 reported to the House, 
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 a legislative 
hearing and made findings that are reflected in this report.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    The goal of the H.R. 5126, the ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 
2006'' is to prohibit the manipulation of caller identification 
information with the intent to defraud or cause harm.

   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. 
5126, the ``Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006'', would result in 
no new or increased budget authority, entitlement authority, or 
tax expenditures or revenues.

                        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:

H.R. 5126--Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006

    Summary: H.R. 5126 would amend the Communications Act of 
1934 to prohibit the manipulation of caller identification 
services (Caller ID) to transmit misleading or inaccurate 
caller identification information with the intent to defraud or 
cause harm through any traditional telephone or voice over 
Internet protocol (VOIP) service. Caller ID services allow 
consumers to see the names and telephone numbers of incoming 
calls. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also would 
be directed to promulgate regulations and implement the bill's 
provisions.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would cost the FCC less 
than $500,000 in 2006 and about $5 million over the 2007-2011 
period. Enacting the bill also would affect federal revenues by 
increasing collections of fines and penalties, but CBO 
estimates that any such increase would not be significant.
    H.R. 5126 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 5126 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 370 
(commerce and housing credit).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                     -----------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2006      2007      2008      2009      2010      2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated authorization level.......................         *         1         1         1         1         1
Estimated outlays...................................         *         1         1         1         1         1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: * = Less than $500,000.

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
bill will be enacted in 2006 and that spending will follow 
historical patterns for similar FCC programs.
    Based on information from the FCC and subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that 
implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000 in 2006 and 
$1 million annually in each subsequent year for the FCC to 
issue new regulations and to enforce the new regulations.
    Enacting the bill would likely increase federal revenues as 
a result of the collection of additional civil penalties 
assessed for violations of the new law and regulations. 
Collections of civil penalties are recorded in the budget as 
revenues. CBO estimates, however, that any additional revenues 
that would result from enacting the bill would not be 
significant because of the relatively small number of cases 
likely to be involved.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 5126 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Matthew Pickford; 
impact on state, local, and tribal Governments: Sarah Puro; 
impact on the private sector: Fatimot Ladipo.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 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.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the 
Constitutional authority for this legislation is provided in 
Article I, section 8, clause 3, which grants Congress the power 
to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes.

                  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 designates the short title of the bill as the 
``Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006.''

Section 2. Prohibition regarding manipulation of caller identification 
        information

    Section 2 adds a new subsection (e) to Section 227 of the 
Communications Act of 1934. New subsection (e)(1) makes it 
unlawful for any person within the United States, in connection 
with any telecommunications service or VOIP service, to cause 
any caller ID service to transmit misleading or inaccurate 
caller identification information with the intent to defraud or 
cause harm. The term ``fraud'' is defined at common law to mean 
an intentional misrepresentation of material existing fact made 
by one person to another with knowledge of its falsity and for 
the purpose of inducing the other person to act, and upon which 
the other person relies with resulting injury or damage.
    The Committee notes the inclusion of the ``intent to 
defraud or cause harm'' language is intended to prohibit the 
misuse of caller ID technology for harmful impersonation. Such 
language is included in the section to ensure that Congress 
does not inadvertently prohibit the conduct of an individual or 
an entity who is not intending to defraud or harm the recipient 
of a call, but instead may be protecting privileged 
communication or ensuring the safety of an individual. For 
example, a domestic violence shelter may alter caller ID 
information in order to return a call to a victim in a way that 
will protect the shelter's confidential location and not alert 
the victim's abuser that she has contacted a shelter program. 
Because the shelter in this example is not intending to defraud 
or harm the recipient of the call, the shelter would not be in 
violation of the section.
    Further, the Committee intends that ``the intent to defraud 
or cause harm'' standard set out in section 227(e)(1) includes 
all types of harm that may result from such caller ID 
``spoofing,'' including financial, physical, and emotional 
harm.
    Commission regulations currently provide that any caller 
shall be able to block their caller ID information from 
reaching the end user. New subsection (e)(2) is designed to 
ensure that nothing in this bill prevents or restricts any 
person from blocking the capability of any caller 
identification service to transmit caller identification 
information.
    New subsection (e)(3) requires the FCC to complete 
regulations within six months of enactment to implement the 
Act.
    New subsection (e)(4) contains the definitions of ``caller 
identification information'', ``caller identification 
service'', and ``VOIP service.''
    New subsection (e)(5) is a savings clause stating that 
nothing in this Act is intended to affect or alter the 
application of the Commission's requirement for transmission of 
caller ID information for telemarketing calls. Pursuant to the 
Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-243), the 
Commission adopted regulations requiring telemarketers to 
transmit caller ID information. The Commission also stated that 
any number supplied must permit an individual to make a do-not-
call request during regular business hours for the duration of 
the telemarketing campaign. Under these regulations, 
telemarketers may transmit the caller ID information of the 
client for whom they are calling. Nothing in H.R. 5126 is 
intended to change the application of those rules.

         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):

             SECTION 227 OF THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934

SEC. 227. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT.

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (e) Prohibition on Provision of Deceptive Caller 
Identification Information.--
          (1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person 
        within the United States, in connection with any 
        telecommunications service or VOIP service, to cause 
        any caller identification service to transmit 
        misleading or inaccurate caller identification 
        information, with the intent to defraud or cause harm.
          (2) Protection for blocking caller identification 
        information.--Nothing in this subsection may be 
        construed to prevent or restrict any person from 
        blocking the capability of any caller identification 
        service to transmit caller identification information.
          (3) Regulations.--Not later than 6 months after the 
        enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall 
        prescribe regulations to implement this subsection.
          (4) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection:
                  (A) Caller identification information.--The 
                term ``caller identification information'' 
                means information provided to an end user 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 VOIP 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 VOIP service. 
                Such term includes automatic number 
                identification services.
                  (C) VOIP service.--The term ``VOIP service'' 
                means a service that--
                          (i) provides real-time voice 
                        communications transmitted through end 
                        user equipment using TCP/IP protocol, 
                        or a successor protocol, for a fee or 
                        without a fee;
                          (ii) is offered to the public, or 
                        such classes of users as to be 
                        effectively available to the public 
                        (whether part of a bundle of services 
                        or separately); and
                          (iii) has the capability to originate 
                        traffic to, and terminate traffic from, 
                        the public switched telephone network.
          (5) Savings provision.--Nothing in this Act may be 
        construed to affect or alter the application of the 
        Commission's regulations regarding the requirements for 
        transmission of caller identification information for 
        telemarketing calls, issued pursuant to the Telephone 
        Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-243) 
        and the amendments made by such Act.
  [(e)] (f) Effect on State Law.--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(f)] (g) Actions by States.--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(g)] (h) Junk Fax Enforcement Report.--The Commission shall 
submit an annual report to Congress regarding the enforcement 
during the past year of the provisions of this section relating 
to sending of unsolicited advertisements to telephone facsimile 
machines, which report shall include--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                                  
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