I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4932 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to expand and clarify the prohibition on inaccurate caller identification information and to require providers of telephone service to offer technology to subscribers to reduce 

the incidence of unwanted telephone calls, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2016 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to expand and 

clarify the prohibition on inaccurate caller identification 

information and to require providers of telephone service 

to offer technology to subscribers to reduce the incidence 

of unwanted telephone calls, 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 ‘‘Repeated Objectionable 

5 Bothering of Consumers on Phones Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘ROBOCOP Act’’. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4932 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The incidence of unwanted telephone calls is 

4 a nationwide nuisance. 

5 (2) In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission re6 ceived over 3.5 million complaints about such calls. 

7 (3) Telephone scammers target vulnerable con8 sumers, particularly the elderly. 

9 (4) The national ‘‘do-not-call’’ registry has ef10 fectively addressed unwanted telephone calls from le11 gitimate companies, but consumers continue to be 

12 subject to unwanted calls originating from sources 

13 outside the United States and illegitimate operators. 

14 (5) Such calls cost consumers an estimated 

15 $350 million in 2011. 

16 (6) Existing Federal law is inadequate to ad17 dress this problem. 

18 (7) Preventing such calls from reaching con19 sumers requires two approaches: 

20 (A) Identifying unwanted calls. 

21 (B) Giving the consumers the ability to 

22 block or filter such calls. 

23 SEC. 3. EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING PROHIBITION ON IN24 ACCURATE CALLER ID INFORMATION. 

25 (a) COMMUNICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE UNITED

26 STATES.—Section 227(e)(1) of the Communications Act 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4932 IH

1 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)) is amended by inserting 

2 ‘‘or any person outside the United States if the recipient 

3 is within the United States,’’ after ‘‘United States,’’. 

4 (b) TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.—Section 227(e)(8) 

5 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(includ8 ing a text message sent using a text messaging serv9 ice)’’ before the period at the end; 

10 (2) in the first sentence of subparagraph (B), 

11 by inserting ‘‘(including a text message sent using a 

12 text messaging service)’’ before the period at the 

13 end; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) TEXT MESSAGE.—The term ‘text 

16 message’ means a real-time or near real-time 

17 digital message consisting of text, images, 

18 sounds, or other information that is transmitted 

19 from or received by a device that is identified 

20 as the transmitting or receiving device by 

21 means of a telephone number. Such term— 

22 ‘‘(i) includes a short message service 

23 (SMS) message, an enhanced message 

24 service (EMS) message, and a multimedia 

25 message service (MMS) message; and 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4932 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) does not include a real-time, two2 way voice or video communication. 

3 ‘‘(E) TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.—The 

4 term ‘text messaging service’ means a service 

5 that permits the transmission or receipt of a 

6 text message, including a service provided as 

7 part of or in connection with a telecommuni8 cations service or an IP-enabled voice service.’’. 

9 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

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

11 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 Commission’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘The Commission’’. 

16 (2) DEADLINE.—The Federal Communications 

17 Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement 

18 the amendments made by this section not later than 

19 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply beginning on the date that is 180 

23 days after the date on which the Federal Communications 

24 Commission prescribes regulations to implement the 

25 amendments made by this section. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4932 IH

1 SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 227(d) of the Commu3 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(d)) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) TECHNOLOGY OFFERED BY PROVIDERS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS TO OFFER TECH7 NOLOGY.—The Commission shall prescribe reg8 ulations setting forth technical and procedural 

9 standards— 

10 ‘‘(i) to require any originating pro11 vider to enable, for each subscriber of such 

12 provider and for no additional charge, 

13 technology that verifies, for any telephone 

14 call originated by such subscriber, that the 

15 caller identification information indicated 

16 for such call accurately identifies such sub17 scriber, or that— 

18 ‘‘(I) the subscriber establishes a 

19 legitimate need, through the process 

20 described in subparagraph (B), to 

21 provide misleading or inaccurate in22 formation for certain calls, such as for 

23 a call made to conduct an activity of 

24 a domestic violence shelter or a med25 ical practice; or 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4932 IH

1 ‘‘(II) the call is exempted, pursu2 ant to the authority granted to the 

3 Commission by subsection 

4 (e)(3)(B)(ii), from the prohibition 

5 under subsection (e)(1); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to require any receiving provider, 

7 for each subscriber of such provider and 

8 for no additional charge— 

9 ‘‘(I) to enable, and to offer the 

10 option to disable, technology that— 

11 ‘‘(aa) determines that an in12 coming telephone call is verified 

13 by the technology enabled in ac14 cordance with clause (i) as pro15 viding caller identification infor16 mation that accurately identifies 

17 the person originating the call; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) prevents the sub19 scriber from receiving such a call; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) to offer the option to enable 

22 technology that— 

23 ‘‘(aa) identifies an incoming 

24 telephone call as originating or 

25 probably originating from an 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4932 IH

1 automatic telephone dialing sys2 tem or as using or probably using 

3 an artificial or prerecorded voice; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(bb) prevents the sub6 scriber from receiving such a call 

7 unless the call is made by a pub8 lic safety entity, including public 

9 safety answering points as de10 fined in section 222(h), emer11 gency operations centers, or law 

12 enforcement agencies, or unless 

13 the subscriber provides prior ex14 press consent to receive the call. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION PROCESS.—The stand16 ards established under subparagraph (A)(i) 

17 shall provide for a process by which— 

18 ‘‘(i) a subscriber may demonstrate to 

19 the originating provider that— 

20 ‘‘(I) such subscriber has a legiti21 mate need, in accordance with sub22 clause (I) of such subparagraph, to 

23 provide misleading or inaccurate caller 

24 identification information for certain 

25 calls; or 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4932 IH

1 ‘‘(II) some or all of the calls of 

2 such subscriber are exempted, pursu3 ant to the authority granted to the 

4 Commission by subsection 

5 (e)(3)(B)(ii), from the prohibition 

6 under subsection (e)(1); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the originating provider shall en8 sure, if the provider makes a favorable de9 termination with respect to the calls de10 scribed in subclause (I) or (II) of clause 

11 (i), that the technology enabled under sub12 paragraph (A)(i) verifies such calls as orig13 inating from such subscriber. 

14 ‘‘(C) APPEALS PROCESS.—The standards 

15 established under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall 

16 provide for an appeals process by which— 

17 ‘‘(i) a person may notify a receiving 

18 provider that the technology offered under 

19 such subparagraph by the provider is— 

20 ‘‘(I) incorrectly identifying the 

21 telephone calls of such person as orig22 inating or probably originating from 

23 an automatic telephone dialing system 

24 or as using or probably using an arti25 ficial or prerecorded voice; or 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4932 IH

1 ‘‘(II) preventing subscribers from 

2 receiving calls originated by such per3 son that are permitted in accordance 

4 with item (bb) of such subparagraph; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the receiving provider so notified 

7 shall, if such provider finds that the cir8 cumstance about which the person notified 

9 the provider under clause (i) exists, take 

10 such action as is reasonably necessary to 

11 correct such circumstance. 

12 ‘‘(D) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A person may 

14 bring, in an appropriate district court of 

15 the United States, or, if otherwise per16 mitted by the laws or rules of court of a 

17 State, in an appropriate court of that 

18 State— 

19 ‘‘(I) an action based on a viola20 tion of the regulations prescribed 

21 under clause (i) or (ii) of subpara22 graph (A) to enjoin such violation; 

23 ‘‘(II) an action to recover for ac24 tual monetary loss from such a viola25 tion, or to receive $500 in damages 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4932 IH

1 for each such violation, whichever is 

2 greater; or 

3 ‘‘(III) both such actions. 

4 ‘‘(ii) ENHANCED AWARDS.—If the 

5 court finds that the defendant willfully or 

6 knowingly violated such regulations, the 

7 court may, in its discretion, increase the 

8 amount of the award to an amount equal 

9 to not more than 3 times the amount avail10 able under clause (i)(II) of this subpara11 graph. 

12 ‘‘(E) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) PREVENTION OF CALLS.—For 

14 purposes of a regulation prescribed under 

15 this paragraph, a call shall be considered 

16 to be prevented even if the call is recorded 

17 or redirected in a manner that allows the 

18 called party to be notified of the attempt 

19 to make the call, or to have access to a 

20 message left by the calling party. 

21 ‘‘(ii) BLOCKING CALLER IDENTIFICA22 TION INFORMATION.—Nothing in this 

23 paragraph may be construed to require an 

24 originating provider to prevent or restrict 

25 any person from blocking the capability of 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4932 IH

1 any caller identification service to transmit 

2 caller identification information. 

3 ‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(i) ORIGINATING PROVIDER.—The 

5 term ‘originating provider’ means a pro6 vider of telecommunications service, or a 

7 provider of IP-enabled voice service (as de8 fined in subsection (e)(8)), that permits a 

9 subscriber to originate a call that may be 

10 transmitted on the public switched tele11 phone network. 

12 ‘‘(ii) RECEIVING PROVIDER.—The 

13 term ‘receiving provider’ means a provider 

14 of telecommunications service, or a pro15 vider of IP-enabled voice service (as de16 fined in subsection (e)(8)), that permits a 

17 subscriber to receive a call originating or 

18 that may be transmitted on the public 

19 switched telephone network.’’. 

20 (b) ACTIONS BY STATES.—Section 227(g)(1) of the 

21 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(g)(1)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by inserting after ‘‘to residents of that 

24 State’’ the following: ‘‘, a pattern or practice of fail25 ure to provide the technology required by clause (i) 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4932 IH

1 of subsection (d)(4)(A) that threatens or adversely 

2 affects an interest of such residents, or a pattern or 

3 practice of failure to provide to such residents the 

4 technology or the options, as applicable, required by 

5 clause (ii) of such subsection,’’; and 

6 (2) by inserting after ‘‘to enjoin such calls’’ the 

7 following: ‘‘or such a failure’’. 

8 (c) DEADLINE AND EFFECTIVE DATE FOR REGULA9 TIONS.—The Federal Communications Commission shall 

10 prescribe the regulations required by paragraph (4) of sec11 tion 227(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as added 

12 by this section, not later than 18 months after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act. Such regulations shall apply 

14 beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of 

15 prescription of such regulations. 

16 SEC. 5. INTENTIONAL INTERFERENCE WITH CALL-BLOCK17 ING TECHNOLOGY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 227 of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) INTENTIONAL INTERFERENCE WITH CALL22 BLOCKING TECHNOLOGY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

24 person within the United States, or any person out25 side the United States if the recipient is within the 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4932 IH

1 United States, with the intent to cause harm, to 

2 take any action that causes the technology offered 

3 under subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii)(II) to— 

4 ‘‘(A) incorrectly identify telephone calls as 

5 originating or probably originating from an 

6 automatic telephone dialing system or using or 

7 probably using an artificial or prerecorded 

8 voice; or 

9 ‘‘(B) prevent (as such term is used in sub10 section (d)(4)) the called party from receiving a 

11 call— 

12 ‘‘(i) made by a public safety entity, in13 cluding public safety answering points as 

14 defined in section 222(h), emergency oper15 ations centers, or law enforcement agen16 cies; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) to which the called party has 

18 provided prior express consent. 

19 ‘‘(2) PENALTIES; ACTIONS BY STATES.—Any 

20 person who violates this subsection or the regula21 tions prescribed under this subsection shall be sub22 ject to the penalties set forth in paragraph (5) of 

23 subsection (e), and to actions by States as set forth 

24 in paragraph (6) of such subsection, in the same 

25 manner and to the same extent as if such person 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4932 IH

1 had violated such subsection or the regulations pre2 scribed under such subsection.’’. 

3 (b) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Federal 

4 Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations 

5 to implement subsection (i) of section 227 of the Commu6 nications Act of 1934, as added by this section, not later 

7 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (i) of section 227 

10 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by this sec11 tion, shall apply beginning on the date that is 180 days 

12 after the date on which the Federal Communications Com13 mission prescribes regulations to implement such sub14 section. 

15 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

16 (a) CALLER NAME FALSIFICATION.—Not later than 

17 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 Federal Communications Commission shall, in consulta19 tion with the Federal Trade Commission, submit to Con20 gress and publish to a publicly available website a report 

21 containing the findings and conclusions of a study deter22 mining how to minimize the extent to which caller names 

23 are falsified in caller identification name databases. 

24 (b) TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS.— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4932 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 4 

3 years thereafter until the date of termination de4 scribed in paragraph (2), the Federal Communica5 tions Commission shall submit to Congress and pub6 lish to a publicly available website a report that con7 tains the following information: 

8 (A) The extent to which subscribers con9 tinue to receive calls with misleading or inac10 curate caller identification information (except 

11 for calls from entities with a legitimate need 

12 and calls exempted pursuant to section 

13 227(e)(3)(B)(ii) of the Communications Act of 

14 1934), including a quantitative assessment of 

15 the change in the number of complaints made 

16 to the Commission regarding such calls before 

17 the effective date of the regulations required by 

18 paragraph (4) of section 227(d) of such Act, as 

19 added by section 4 of this Act, and after such 

20 effective date. 

21 (B) The extent to which subscribers that 

22 choose to enable technology offered in accord23 ance with section 227(d)(4)(A)(ii)(II) of the 

24 Communications Act of 1934, as added by sec25 tion 4 of this Act, continue to receive calls origVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Apr 16, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4932.IH H4932

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4932 IH

1 inating from an automatic telephone dialing 

2 system or using an artificial or prerecorded 

3 voice (except for calls from public safety entities 

4 and calls to which subscribers have provided 

5 prior express consent), including a quantitative 

6 assessment of the change in the number of 

7 complaints made to the Commission regarding 

8 such calls before the effective date of the regu9 lations required by such section and after such 

10 effective date. 

11 (C) An assessment of whether the stand12 ards set forth in such regulations have been 

13 successful in reducing the number of the calls 

14 described in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

15 received by subscribers, and whether there have 

16 been any problems with such standards or the 

17 technology required by such standards, such as 

18 the prevention of calls from public safety enti19 ties or calls to which subscribers have provided 

20 prior express consent. 

21 (D) Any recommendations for legislative or 

22 regulatory action to improve such standards. 

23 (2) TERMINATION.—The date of termination 

24 described in this paragraph is the date on which the 

25 Federal Communications Commission, in consultaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Apr 16, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4932.IH H4932

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 4932 IH

1 tion with the Federal Trade Commission, determines 

2 that the report required by paragraph (1) is no 

3 longer necessary because of a substantial reduction 

4 in the number of calls described in each of subpara5 graphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS