II 

Calendar No. 117 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 134 

[Report No. 115–91] 

To expand the prohibition on misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

information, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2017 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mrs. FISCHER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BLUNT, and 

Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

JUNE 6, 2017 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To expand the prohibition on misleading or inaccurate caller 

identification information, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spoofing Prevention 

5 Act of 2017’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Fed3 eral Communications Commission. 

4 SEC. 3. SPOOFING PREVENTION. 

5 (a) EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING PROHIBITION ON

6 MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER IDENTIFICATION

7 INFORMATION.— 

8 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE THE

9 UNITED STATES.—Section 227(e)(1) of the Commu10 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘in connection with any tele12 communications service or IP-enabled voice service’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘or any person outside the United 

14 States if the recipient of the call is within the 

15 United States, in connection with any voice service 

16 or text messaging service’’. 

17 (2) COVERAGE OF TEXT MESSAGES AND VOICE

18 SERVICES.—Section 227(e)(8) of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)) is amend20 ed— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘tele22 communications service or IP-enabled voice 

23 service’’ and inserting ‘‘voice service or a text 

24 message sent using a text messaging service’’; 

25 (B) in the first sentence of subparagraph 

26 (B), by striking ‘‘telecommunications service or 

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1 IP-enabled voice service’’ and inserting ‘‘voice 

2 service or a text message sent using a text mes3 saging service’’; and 

4 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(C) TEXT MESSAGE.—The term ‘text 

7 message’— 

8 ‘‘(i) means a message consisting of 

9 text, images, sounds, or other information 

10 that is transmitted from or received by a 

11 device that is identified as the transmitting 

12 or receiving device by means of a 10-digit 

13 telephone number; 

14 ‘‘(ii) includes a short message service 

15 (commonly referred to as ‘SMS’) message, 

16 an enhanced message service (commonly 

17 referred to as ‘EMS’) message, and a 

18 multimedia message service (commonly re19 ferred to as ‘MMS’) message; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) does not include a real-time, 2- 

21 way voice or video communication. 

22 ‘‘(D) TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.—The 

23 term ‘text messaging service’ means a service 

24 that permits the transmission or receipt of a 

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1 text message, including a service provided as 

2 part of or in connection with a voice service. 

3 ‘‘(E) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘voice 

4 service’— 

5 ‘‘(i) means any service that furnishes 

6 voice communications to an end user using 

7 resources from the North American Num8 bering Plan or any successor to the North 

9 American Numbering Plan adopted by the 

10 Commission under section 251(e)(1); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) includes transmissions from a 

12 telephone facsimile machine, computer, or 

13 other device to a telephone facsimile ma14 chine.’’. 

15 (3) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 227(e) 

16 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

17 227(e)) is amended in the heading by inserting 

18 ‘‘MISLEADING OR’’ before ‘‘INACCURATE’’. 

19 (4) REGULATIONS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 227(e)(3)(A) of 

21 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

22 227(e)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not 

23 later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

24 of the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, the 

25 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘The Commission’’. 

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1 (B) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall 

2 prescribe regulations to implement the amend3 ments made by this subsection not later than 

4 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

7 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that 

8 is 6 months after the date on which the Commission 

9 prescribes regulations under paragraph (4). 

10 (b) CONSUMER EDUCATION MATERIALS ON HOW TO

11 AVOID SCAMS THAT RELY UPON MISLEADING OR INAC12 CURATE CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION.— 

13 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS.—Not later 

14 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 the Commission, in collaboration with the Federal 

16 Trade Commission, shall develop consumer edu17 cation materials that provide information about— 

18 (A) ways for consumers to identify scams 

19 and other fraudulent activity that rely upon the 

20 use of misleading or inaccurate caller identifica21 tion information; and 

22 (B) existing technologies, if any, that a 

23 consumer can use to protect against such scams 

24 and other fraudulent activity. 

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1 (2) CONTENTS.—In developing the consumer 

2 education materials under paragraph (1), the Com3 mission shall— 

4 (A) identify existing technologies, if any, 

5 that can help consumers guard themselves 

6 against scams and other fraudulent activity 

7 that rely upon the use of misleading or inac8 curate caller identification information, includ9 ing— 

10 (i) descriptions of how a consumer 

11 can use the technologies to protect against 

12 such scams and other fraudulent activity; 

13 and 

14 (ii) details on how consumers can ac15 cess and use the technologies; and 

16 (B) provide other information that may 

17 help consumers identify and avoid scams and 

18 other fraudulent activity that rely upon the use 

19 of misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

20 information. 

21 (3) UPDATES.—The Commission shall ensure 

22 that the consumer education materials required 

23 under paragraph (1) are updated on a regular basis. 

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1 (4) WEBSITE.—The Commission shall include 

2 the consumer education materials developed under 

3 paragraph (1) on its website. 

4 (c) GAO REPORT ON COMBATING THE FRAUDULENT

5 PROVISION OF MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER

6 IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall conduct a study of the ac9 tions the Commission and the Federal Trade Com10 mission have taken to combat the fraudulent provi11 sion of misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

12 information, and the additional measures that could 

13 be taken to combat such activity. 

14 (2) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—In con15 ducting the study under paragraph (1), the Comp16 troller General shall examine— 

17 (A) trends in the types of scams that rely 

18 on misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

19 information; 

20 (B) previous and current enforcement ac21 tions by the Commission and the Federal Trade 

22 Commission to combat the practices prohibited 

23 by section 227(e)(1) of the Communications Act 

24 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)); 

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1 (C) current efforts by industry groups and 

2 other entities to develop technical standards to 

3 deter or prevent the fraudulent provision of 

4 misleading or inaccurate caller identification in5 formation, and how such standards may help 

6 combat the current and future provision of mis7 leading or inaccurate caller identification infor8 mation; and 

9 (D) whether there are additional actions 

10 the Commission, the Federal Trade Commis11 sion, and Congress should take to combat the 

12 fraudulent provision of misleading or inaccurate 

13 caller identification information. 

14 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

16 General shall submit to the Committee on Com17 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

18 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

19 House of Representatives a report on the findings of 

20 the study conducted under paragraph (1), including 

21 any recommendations regarding combating the 

22 fraudulent provision of misleading or inaccurate call23 er identification information. 

24 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion, or the amendments made by this section, shall be 

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1 construed to modify, limit, or otherwise affect any rule or 

2 order adopted by the Commission in connection with— 

3 (1) the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 

4 1991 (Public Law 102–243; 105 Stat. 2394) or the 

5 amendments made by that Act; or 

6 (2) the CAN–SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 

7 7701 et seq.). 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spoofing Prevention Act 

10 of 2017’’. 

11 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

12 In this Act, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

13 Communications Commission. 

14 SEC. 3. SPOOFING PREVENTION. 

15 (a) EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING PROHIBITION ON

16 MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER IDENTIFICATION IN17 FORMATION.— 

18 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE THE

19 UNITED STATES.—Section 227(e)(1) of the Commu20 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)) is amend21 ed by striking ‘‘in connection with any telecommuni22 cations service or IP-enabled voice service’’ and in23 serting ‘‘or any person outside the United States if 

24 the recipient of the call is within the United States, 

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1 in connection with any voice service or text messaging 

2 service’’. 

3 (2) COVERAGE OF TEXT MESSAGES AND VOICE

4 SERVICES.—Section 227(e)(8) of the Communications 

5 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)) is amended— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘tele7 communications service or IP-enabled voice serv8 ice’’ and inserting ‘‘voice service or a text mes9 sage sent using a text messaging service’’; 

10 (B) in the first sentence of subparagraph 

11 (B), by striking ‘‘telecommunications service or 

12 IP-enabled voice service’’ and inserting ‘‘voice 

13 service or a text message sent using a text mes14 saging service’’; and 

15 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘(C) TEXT MESSAGE.—The term ‘text mes18 sage’— 

19 ‘‘(i) means a message consisting of 

20 text, images, sounds, or other information 

21 that is transmitted from or received by a 

22 device that is identified as the transmitting 

23 or receiving device by means of a 10-digit 

24 telephone number; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) includes a short message service 

2 (commonly referred to as ‘SMS’) message, 

3 and a multimedia message service (com4 monly referred to as ‘MMS’) message; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) does not include— 

6 ‘‘(I) a real-time, two-way voice or 

7 video communication; or 

8 ‘‘(II) a message sent over an IP9 enabled messaging service to another 

10 user of the same messaging service, ex11 cept a message described in clause (ii). 

12 ‘‘(D) TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.—The term 

13 ‘text messaging service’ means a service that en14 ables the transmission or receipt of a text mes15 sage, including a service provided as part of or 

16 in connection with a voice service. 

17 ‘‘(E) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘voice serv18 ice’— 

19 ‘‘(i) means any service that furnishes 

20 voice communications to an end user using 

21 resources from the North American Num22 bering Plan or any successor to the North 

23 American Numbering Plan adopted by the 

24 Commission under section 251(e)(1); and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) includes transmissions from a 

2 telephone facsimile machine, computer, or 

3 other device to a telephone facsimile ma4 chine.’’. 

5 (3) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 227(e) of 

6 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)) 

7 is amended in the heading by inserting ‘‘MISLEADING

8 OR’’ before ‘‘INACCURATE’’. 

9 (4) REGULATIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 227(e)(3)(A) of 

11 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

12 227(e)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later 

13 than 6 months after the date of enactment of the 

14 Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, the Commis15 sion’’ and inserting ‘‘The Commission’’. 

16 (B) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall pre17 scribe regulations to implement the amendments 

18 made by this subsection not later than 18 months 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

21 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that is 

22 6 months after the date on which the Commission pre23 scribes regulations under paragraph (4). 

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1 (b) CONSUMER EDUCATION MATERIALS ON HOW TO

2 AVOID SCAMS THAT RELY UPON MISLEADING OR INAC3 CURATE CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION.— 

4 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS.—Not later 

5 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 the Commission, in collaboration with the Federal 

7 Trade Commission, shall develop consumer education 

8 materials that provide information about— 

9 (A) ways for consumers to identify scams 

10 and other fraudulent activity that rely upon the 

11 use of misleading or inaccurate caller identifica12 tion information; and 

13 (B) existing technologies, if any, that a con14 sumer can use to protect against such scams and 

15 other fraudulent activity. 

16 (2) CONTENTS.—In developing the consumer 

17 education materials under paragraph (1), the Com18 mission shall— 

19 (A) identify existing technologies, if any, 

20 that can help consumers guard themselves 

21 against scams and other fraudulent activity that 

22 rely upon the use of misleading or inaccurate 

23 caller identification information, including— 

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1 (i) descriptions of how a consumer can 

2 use the technologies to protect against such 

3 scams and other fraudulent activity; and 

4 (ii) details on how consumers can ac5 cess and use the technologies; and 

6 (B) provide other information that may 

7 help consumers identify and avoid scams and 

8 other fraudulent activity that rely upon the use 

9 of misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

10 information. 

11 (3) UPDATES.—The Commission shall ensure 

12 that the consumer education materials required under 

13 paragraph (1) are updated on a regular basis. 

14 (4) WEBSITE.—The Commission shall include 

15 the consumer education materials developed under 

16 paragraph (1) on its website. 

17 (c) GAO REPORT ON COMBATING THE FRAUDULENT

18 PROVISION OF MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER IDEN19 TIFICATION INFORMATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

21 the United States shall conduct a study of the actions 

22 the Commission and the Federal Trade Commission 

23 have taken to combat the fraudulent provision of mis24 leading or inaccurate caller identification informamstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 tion, and the additional measures that could be taken 

2 to combat such activity. 

3 (2) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting 

4 the study under paragraph (1), the Comptroller Gen5 eral shall examine— 

6 (A) trends in the types of scams that rely 

7 on misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

8 information; 

9 (B) previous and current enforcement ac10 tions by the Commission and the Federal Trade 

11 Commission to combat the practices prohibited 

12 by section 227(e)(1) of the Communications Act 

13 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)); 

14 (C) current efforts by industry groups and 

15 other entities to develop technical standards to 

16 deter or prevent the fraudulent provision of mis17 leading or inaccurate caller identification infor18 mation, and how such standards may help com19 bat the current and future provision of mis20 leading or inaccurate caller identification infor21 mation; and 

22 (D) whether there are additional actions the 

23 Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and 

24 Congress should take to combat the fraudulent 

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1 provision of misleading or inaccurate caller 

2 identification information. 

3 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

5 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa8 tives a report on the findings of the study conducted 

9 under paragraph (1), including any recommendations 

10 regarding combating the fraudulent provision of mis11 leading or inaccurate caller identification informa12 tion. 

13 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion, or the amendments made by this section, shall be con15 strued to modify, limit, or otherwise affect any rule or order 

16 adopted by the Commission in connection with— 

17 (1) the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 

18 1991 (Public Law 102–243; 105 Stat. 2394) or the 

19 amendments made by that Act; or 

20 (2) the CAN–SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701 

21 et seq.). 

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Calendar No. 117 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 134 

[Report No. 115–91] 

A BILL 

To expand the prohibition on misleading or inacother purposes. curate caller identification information, and for 

JUNE 6, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 

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