IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3993 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To require accurate and reasonable disclosure of the terms 

and conditions of prepaid telephone calling cards and 

services. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Calling Card Consumer 

3 Protection Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

6 apply: 

7 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

8 Trade Commission. 

9 (2) The term ‘‘prepaid calling card’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term ‘‘prepaid calling card’’ by 

11 section 64.5000(a) of the Federal Communications 

12 Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 64.5000(a)). 

13 Such term shall also include calling cards that use 

14 VoIP service or a successor protocol. Such term 

15 shall also include an electronic or other mechanism 

16 that allows users to pay in advance for a specified 

17 amount of calling. Such term shall not include— 

18 (A) calling cards or other rights of use 

19 that are provided for free or at no additional 

20 cost as a promotional item accompanying a 

21 product or service purchased by a consumer; 

22 (B) any card, device, or other right of use, 

23 the purchase of which establishes a customer24 carrier relationship with a provider of wireless 

25 telecommunications service or wireless hybrid 

26 service, or that provides access to a wireless 


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1 telecommunications service or wireless hybrid 

2 service account wherein the purchaser has a 

3 pre-existing relationship with the wireless serv4 ice provider; or 

5 (C) payphone service, as that term is de6 fined in section 276(d) of the Communications 

7 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276(d)). 

8 (3) The term ‘‘prepaid calling card provider’’ 

9 has the meaning given the term ‘‘prepaid calling 

10 card provider’’ by section 64.5000(b) of the Federal 

11 Communications Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 

12 64.5000(b)). Such term shall also include— 

13 (A) a provider of a prepaid calling card 

14 that uses VoIP service or a successor protocol; 

15 and 

16 (B) a provider of a prepaid calling card 

17 that allows users to pay in advance for a speci18 fied amount of minutes through an electronic or 

19 other mechanism. 

20 (4) The term ‘‘prepaid calling card distributor’’ 

21 means any entity or person that purchases prepaid 

22 calling cards from a prepaid calling card provider or 

23 another prepaid calling card distributor and sells, re24 sells, issues, or distributes such cards to one or more 


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1 distributors of such cards or to one or more retail 

2 sellers of such cards. Such term shall not include— 

3 (A) any retail seller whose only activity 

4 with respect to the sale of prepaid calling cards 

5 is point-of-sale transactions with end-user cus6 tomers; or 

7 (B) any person whose only activity with re8 spect to the sale of prepaid calling cards is the 

9 transport or delivery of such cards. 

10 (5) The term ‘‘wireless hybrid service’’ is de11 fined as a service that integrates both commercial 

12 mobile radio service (as defined by section 20.3 of 

13 the Federal Communications Commission’s regula14 tions (47 CFR 20.3)) and VoIP service. 

15 (6) The term ‘‘VoIP service’’ has the meaning 

16 given the term ‘‘interconnected Voice over Internet 

17 protocol service’’ by section 9.3 of the Federal Com18 munications Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 

19 9.3). Such term shall include any voice calling serv20 ice that utilizes a voice over Internet protocol or any 

21 successor protocol in the transmission of the call. 

22 (7) The term ‘‘fees’’ includes all charges, fees, 

23 taxes, or surcharges applicable to a prepaid calling 

24 card that are— 


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1 (A) required by Federal law or regulation 

2 or order of the Federal Communications Com3 mission or by the laws and regulations of any 

4 State or political subdivision of a State; or 

5 (B) expressly permitted to be assessed 

6 under Federal law or regulation or order of the 

7 Federal Communications Commission or under 

8 the laws and regulations of any State or polit9 ical subdivision of a State. 

10 (8) The term ‘‘additional charge’’ means any 

11 charge assessed by a prepaid calling card provider or 

12 prepaid calling card distributor for the use of a pre13 paid calling card, other than a fee or rate. 

14 (9) The term ‘‘international preferred destina15 tion’’ means one or more specific international des16 tinations named on a prepaid calling card or on the 

17 packaging material accompanying a prepaid calling 

18 card. 

19 SEC. 3. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES OF PREPAID CALLING 

20 CARDS. 

21 (a) REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.—Any prepaid calling 

22 card provider or prepaid calling card distributor shall ac23 curately disclose the following information relating to the 

24 terms and conditions of the prepaid calling card: 


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1 (1) The name of the prepaid calling card pro2 vider and such provider’s customer service telephone 

3 number and hours of service, except that the hours 

4 of service may not be required to be disclosed if the 

5 provider’s customer service is provided and available 

6 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. 

7 (2)(A) The number of domestic interstate min8 utes available from the prepaid calling card and the 

9 number of available minutes for all international 

10 preferred destinations served by the prepaid calling 

11 card at the time of purchase; or 

12 (B) the dollar value of the prepaid calling card, 

13 the domestic interstate rate per minute provided by 

14 such card, and the applicable per minute rates for 

15 all international preferred destinations served by the 

16 prepaid calling card at the time of purchase. 

17 (3)(A) The applicable per minute rate for all in18 dividual international destinations served by the card 

19 at the time of purchase; or 

20 (B) a toll-free customer service number and 

21 website (if the provider maintains a website) where 

22 a consumer may obtain the information described in 

23 subparagraph (A) and a statement that such infor24 mation may be obtained through such toll-free cus25 tomer service number and website. 


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1 (4) The following terms and conditions per2 taining to, or associated with, the use of the prepaid 

3 calling card: 

4 (A) Any applicable fees associated with the 

5 use of the prepaid calling card. 

6 (B) A description of any additional charges 

7 associated with the use of the prepaid calling 

8 card and the amount of such charges. 

9 (C) Any limitation on the use or period of 

10 time for which the promoted or advertised min11 utes or rates will be available. 

12 (D) A description of the applicable policies 

13 relating to refund, recharge, and any predeter14 mined decrease in value of such card over a pe15 riod of time. 

16 (E) Any expiration date applicable to the 

17 prepaid calling card or the minutes available 

18 with such calling card. 

19 (b) LOCATION OF DISCLOSURE AND LANGUAGE RE20 QUIREMENT.— 

21 (1) CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS.— 

22 (A) CARDS.—The disclosures required 

23 under subsection (a) shall be printed in plain 

24 English language (except as provided in para25 graph (2)) in a clear and conspicuous manner 


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1 and location on the prepaid calling card, except 

2 as the Commission may provide under para3 graph (3). If the card is enclosed in packaging 

4 that obscures the disclosures on the card, such 

5 disclosures also shall be printed on the outside 

6 packaging of the card. 

7 (B) ONLINE SERVICES.—In addition to the 

8 requirements under subparagraph (A), in the 

9 case of a prepaid calling card that consumers 

10 purchase via the Internet, the disclosures re11 quired under subsection (a) shall be displayed 

12 in plain English language (except as provided in 

13 paragraph (2)) in a clear and conspicuous man14 ner and location on the Internet website that 

15 the consumer must access prior to purchasing 

16 such card. 

17 (C) ADVERTISING AND OTHER PRO18 MOTIONAL MATERIAL.—Any advertising or 

19 other promotional material for a prepaid calling 

20 card that contains any representation, expressly 

21 or by implication, regarding the dollar value, 

22 the per minute rate, or the number of minutes 

23 provided by the card shall include in a clear and 

24 conspicuous manner and location all the discloVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:32 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3993.RFS H3993

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1 sures described in subsection (a), except as the 

2 Commission may provide under paragraph (3). 

3 (2) FOREIGN LANGUAGES.—If a language other 

4 than English is prominently used on a prepaid call5 ing card, its packaging, or in point-of-sale adver6 tising, Internet advertising, or promotional material 

7 for such card, the disclosures required by this sec8 tion shall be disclosed in that language on such card, 

9 packaging, advertisement, or promotional material. 

10 (3) DIFFERENT LOCATION OF CERTAIN INFOR11 MATION AS DETERMINED BY COMMISSION.—Not12 withstanding the requirements of paragraph (1), the 

13 Commission may determine that some of the infor14 mation required to be disclosed pursuant to sub15 section (a) does not need to be disclosed on the pre16 paid calling card, advertising, or other promotional 

17 material, if the Commission by regulation— 

18 (A) requires the information to be other19 wise disclosed and available to consumers; and 

20 (B) determines that— 

21 (i) such disclosures provide for easy 

22 comprehension and comparison by con23 sumers; and 

24 (ii) the remaining disclosures on the 

25 prepaid calling card, advertising, or other 


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1 promotional material, include sufficient in2 formation to allow a consumer to effec3 tively inquire about or seek clarification of 

4 the services provided by the calling card. 

5 (c) MINUTES ANNOUNCED, PROMOTED, OR ADVER6 TISED THROUGH VOICE PROMPTS.—Any information pro7 vided to a consumer by any voice prompt given to the con8 sumer at the time the consumer uses the prepaid calling 

9 card relating to the remaining value of the calling card 

10 or the number of minutes available from the calling card 

11 shall be accurate, taking into account the application of 

12 the fees and additional charges required to be disclosed 

13 under subsection (a). 

14 (d) DISCLOSURES REQUIRED UPON PURCHASE OF

15 ADDITIONAL MINUTES.—If a prepaid calling card permits 

16 a consumer to add value to the card or purchase additional 

17 minutes after the original purchase of the prepaid calling 

18 card, any changes to the rates or additional charges re19 quired to be disclosed under subsection (a) shall apply only 

20 to the additional minutes to be purchased and shall be 

21 disclosed clearly and conspicuously to the consumer before 

22 the completion of such purchase. 

23 (e) NO FALSE, MISLEADING, OR DECEPTIVE DISCLO24 SURES.—No prepaid calling card, packaging, advertise25 ment, or other promotional material containing a discloVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:32 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3993.RFS H3993

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1 sure required pursuant to this section shall contain any 

2 false, misleading, or deceptive representations relating to 

3 the terms and conditions of the prepaid calling card. 

4 SEC. 4. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AUTHORITY. 

5 (a) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.— 

6 A violation of section 3 shall be treated as a violation of 

7 a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre8 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

9 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

10 (b) AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION.—The Commis11 sion shall enforce this Act in the same manner and by 

12 the same means as though all applicable terms and provi13 sions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incor14 porated into and made a part of this Act. Notwithstanding 

15 any provision of the Federal Trade Commission Act or any 

16 other provision of law, common carriers subject to the 

17 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and 

18 any amendment thereto shall be subject to the jurisdiction 

19 of the Commission for purposes of this Act. 

20 (c) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Not later than 1 

21 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis22 sion shall, in consultation with the Federal Communica23 tions Commission and in accordance with section 553 of 

24 title 5, United States Code, issue regulations to carry out 


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1 this Act. In promulgating such regulations, the Commis2 sion shall— 

3 (1) take into consideration the need for clear 

4 disclosures that provide for easy comprehension and 

5 comparison by consumers, taking into account the 

6 size of prepaid calling cards; and 

7 (2) give due consideration to the views of the 

8 Federal Communications Commission with regard to 

9 matters for which that Commission has particular 

10 expertise and authority and shall take into consider11 ation the views of States. 

12 In promulgating such regulations, the Commission may 

13 prescribe requirements concerning the order, format, pres14 entation, and design of disclosures required by this Act 

15 and may establish and require the use of uniform terms, 

16 symbols, or categories to describe or disclose fees and ad17 ditional charges, if the Commission finds that such re18 quirements will assist consumers in making purchasing 

19 decisions and effectuate the purposes of this Act. The 

20 Commission shall not issue regulations that otherwise 

21 specify the rates, terms, and conditions of prepaid calling 

22 cards. 

23 (d) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act shall 

24 be construed to limit the authority of the Commission 

25 under any other provision of law. Except to the extent exVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:32 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3993.RFS H3993

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1 pressly provided in this Act, nothing in this Act shall be 

2 construed to alter or affect the exemption for common car3 riers provided by section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade 

4 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)). Nothing in this Act 

5 is intended to limit the authority of the Federal Commu6 nications Commission. 

7 (e) COORDINATION.—If the Federal Communications 

8 Commission initiates a rulemaking proceeding to establish 

9 requirements relating to the disclosure of terms and condi10 tions of prepaid calling cards, the Federal Communica11 tions Commission shall coordinate with the Federal Trade 

12 Commission to ensure that any such requirements are not 

13 inconsistent with the requirements of this Act and the reg14 ulations issued under subsection (c). 

15 SEC. 5. STATE ENFORCEMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (1) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in which the 

18 attorney general of a State, a State utility commis19 sion, or other consumer protection agency has rea20 son to believe that an interest of the residents of 

21 that State has been or is threatened or adversely af22 fected by the engagement of any person in a practice 

23 that is prohibited under this Act, the State utility 

24 commission or other consumer protection agency, if 

25 authorized by State law, or the State, as parens 


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1 patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the 

2 residents of that State in an appropriate district 

3 court of the United States or any other court of 

4 competent jurisdiction to— 

5 (A) enjoin that practice; 

6 (B) enforce compliance with this Act; 

7 (C) obtain damages, restitution, or other 

8 compensation on behalf of residents of the 

9 State; or 

10 (D) obtain such other relief as the court 

11 may consider to be appropriate. 

12 (2) NOTICE TO THE COMMISSION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an action 

14 under paragraph (1), the State shall provide to 

15 the Commission— 

16 (i) written notice of the action; and 

17 (ii) a copy of the complaint for the ac18 tion. 

19 (B) EXEMPTION.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) 

21 shall not apply with respect to the filing of 

22 an action by a State under this subsection, 

23 if the attorney general or other appropriate 

24 officer determines that it is not feasible to 


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1 provide the notice described in that sub2 paragraph before the filing of the action. 

3 (ii) NOTIFICATION.—In an action de4 scribed in clause (i), the State shall pro5 vide notice and a copy of the complaint to 

6 the Commission at the same time as the 

7 State files the action. 

8 (b) INTERVENTION BY COMMISSION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice under 

10 subsection (a)(2), the Commission shall have the 

11 right to intervene in the action that is the subject 

12 of the notice. 

13 (2) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the Com14 mission intervenes in an action under subsection (a), 

15 it shall have the right— 

16 (A) to be heard with respect to any matter 

17 that arises in that action; 

18 (B) to remove the action to the appro19 priate United States District Court; and 

20 (C) to file a petition for appeal. 

21 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing any 

22 civil action under subsection (a), nothing in this section 

23 shall be construed to prevent an attorney general of a 

24 State, a State utility commission, or other consumer pro25 tection agency authorized by State law from exercising the 


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1 powers conferred on the attorney general or other appro2 priate official by the laws of that State to— 

3 (1) conduct investigations; 

4 (2) administer oaths or affirmations; 

5 (3) compel the attendance of witnesses or the 

6 production of documentary and other evidence; or 

7 (4) enforce any State law. 

8 (d) ACTION BY THE COMMISSION MAY PRECLUDE

9 STATE ACTION.—In any case in which an action is insti10 tuted by or on behalf of the Commission for violation of 

11 this Act, or any regulation issued under this Act, no State 

12 may, during the pendency of that action, institute an ac13 tion under subsection (a) against any defendant named 

14 in the complaint in that action for violation of this Act 

15 or regulation. 

16 SEC. 6. APPLICATION. 

17 This Act shall apply to— 

18 (1) any prepaid calling card issued or placed 

19 into the stream of commerce beginning 180 days 

20 after the date on which final regulations are promul21 gated pursuant to section 4(c); and 

22 (2) any advertising, promotion, point-of-sale 

23 material or voice prompt regarding a prepaid calling 

24 card that is disseminated beginning 180 days after 


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1 the date on which final regulations are promulgated 

2 pursuant to section 4(c). 

3 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 

4 After the date on which final regulations are promul5 gated pursuant to section 4(c), no State or political sub6 division of a State may establish or continue in effect any 

7 provision of law that contains requirements regarding dis8 closures to be printed on prepaid calling cards or pack9 aging unless such requirements are identical to the re10 quirements of section 3. 

11 SEC. 8. STUDIES. 

12 (a) GAO STUDY.—Beginning 2 years after the date 

13 on which final regulations are promulgated pursuant to 

14 section 4(c), the Comptroller General shall conduct a 

15 study of the effectiveness of this Act and the disclosures 

16 required under this Act and shall submit a report of such 

17 study to Congress not later than 3 years after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act. 

19 (b) FTC STUDY.—The Commission shall, in con20 sultation with the Federal Communications Commission, 

21 conduct a study of the extent to which the business prac22 tices of the prepaid calling card industry intended to be 

23 addressed by this Act exist in the prepaid wireless industry 

24 and shall submit a report of such study, including recVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:32 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3993.RFS H3993

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1 ommendations, if any, to Congress not later than 3 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 23, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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