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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4932 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Repeated Objectionable Bothering of 
Consumers on Phones Act'' or the ``ROBOCOP Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The incidence of unwanted telephone calls is a 
        nationwide nuisance.
            (2) In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission received over 3.5 
        million complaints about such calls.
            (3) Telephone scammers target vulnerable consumers, 
        particularly the elderly.
            (4) The national ``do-not-call'' registry has effectively 
        addressed unwanted telephone calls from legitimate companies, 
        but consumers continue to be subject to unwanted calls 
        originating from sources outside the United States and 
        illegitimate operators.
            (5) Such calls cost consumers an estimated $350 million in 
        2011.
            (6) Existing Federal law is inadequate to address this 
        problem.
            (7) Preventing such calls from reaching consumers requires 
        two approaches:
                    (A) Identifying unwanted calls.
                    (B) Giving the consumers the ability to block or 
                filter such calls.

SEC. 3. 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 digital 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) 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.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date on which 
the Federal Communications Commission prescribes regulations to 
implement the amendments made by this section.

SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 227(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 227(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(4) Technology offered by providers.--
                    ``(A) Requirements to offer technology.--The 
                Commission shall prescribe regulations setting forth 
                technical and procedural standards--
                            ``(i) to require any originating provider 
                        to enable, for each subscriber of such provider 
                        and for no additional charge, technology that 
                        verifies, for any telephone call originated by 
                        such subscriber, that the caller identification 
                        information indicated for such call accurately 
                        identifies such subscriber, or that--
                                    ``(I) the subscriber establishes a 
                                legitimate need, through the process 
                                described in subparagraph (B), to 
                                provide misleading or inaccurate 
                                information for certain calls, such as 
                                for a call made to conduct an activity 
                                of a domestic violence shelter or a 
                                medical practice; or
                                    ``(II) the call is exempted, 
                                pursuant to the authority granted to 
                                the Commission by subsection 
                                (e)(3)(B)(ii), from the prohibition 
                                under subsection (e)(1); and
                            ``(ii) to require any receiving provider, 
                        for each subscriber of such provider and for no 
                        additional charge--
                                    ``(I) to enable, and to offer the 
                                option to disable, technology that--
                                            ``(aa) determines that an 
                                        incoming telephone call is 
                                        verified by the technology 
                                        enabled in accordance with 
                                        clause (i) as providing caller 
                                        identification information that 
                                        accurately identifies the 
                                        person originating the call; or
                                            ``(bb) prevents the 
                                        subscriber from receiving such 
                                        a call; and
                                    ``(II) to offer the option to 
                                enable technology that--
                                            ``(aa) identifies an 
                                        incoming telephone call as 
                                        originating or probably 
                                        originating from an automatic 
                                        telephone dialing system or as 
                                        using or probably using an 
                                        artificial or prerecorded 
                                        voice; and
                                            ``(bb) prevents the 
                                        subscriber from receiving such 
                                        a call unless the call is made 
                                        by a public safety entity, 
                                        including public safety 
                                        answering points as defined in 
                                        section 222(h), emergency 
                                        operations centers, or law 
                                        enforcement agencies, or unless 
                                        the subscriber provides prior 
                                        express consent to receive the 
                                        call.
                    ``(B) Exemption process.--The standards established 
                under subparagraph (A)(i) shall provide for a process 
                by which--
                            ``(i) a subscriber may demonstrate to the 
                        originating provider that--
                                    ``(I) such subscriber has a 
                                legitimate need, in accordance with 
                                subclause (I) of such subparagraph, to 
                                provide misleading or inaccurate caller 
                                identification information for certain 
                                calls; or
                                    ``(II) some or all of the calls of 
                                such subscriber are exempted, pursuant 
                                to the authority granted to the 
                                Commission by subsection (e)(3)(B)(ii), 
                                from the prohibition under subsection 
                                (e)(1); and
                            ``(ii) the originating provider shall 
                        ensure, if the provider makes a favorable 
                        determination with respect to the calls 
                        described in subclause (I) or (II) of clause 
                        (i), that the technology enabled under 
                        subparagraph (A)(i) verifies such calls as 
                        originating from such subscriber.
                    ``(C) Appeals process.--The standards established 
                under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall provide for an 
                appeals process by which--
                            ``(i) a person may notify a receiving 
                        provider that the technology offered under such 
                        subparagraph by the provider is--
                                    ``(I) incorrectly identifying the 
                                telephone calls of such person as 
                                originating or probably originating 
                                from an automatic telephone dialing 
                                system or as using or probably using an 
                                artificial or prerecorded voice; or
                                    ``(II) preventing subscribers from 
                                receiving calls originated by such 
                                person that are permitted in accordance 
                                with item (bb) of such subparagraph; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) the receiving provider so notified 
                        shall, if such provider finds that the 
                        circumstance about which the person notified 
                        the provider under clause (i) exists, take such 
                        action as is reasonably necessary to correct 
                        such circumstance.
                    ``(D) Private right of action.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A person may bring, in 
                        an appropriate district court of the United 
                        States, or, if otherwise permitted by the laws 
                        or rules of court of a State, in an appropriate 
                        court of that State--
                                    ``(I) an action based on a 
                                violation of the regulations prescribed 
                                under clause (i) or (ii) of 
                                subparagraph (A) to enjoin such 
                                violation;
                                    ``(II) an action to recover for 
                                actual monetary loss from such a 
                                violation, or to receive $500 in 
                                damages for each such violation, 
                                whichever is greater; or
                                    ``(III) both such actions.
                            ``(ii) Enhanced awards.--If the court finds 
                        that the defendant willfully or knowingly 
                        violated such regulations, the court may, in 
                        its discretion, increase the amount of the 
                        award to an amount equal to not more than 3 
                        times the amount available under clause (i)(II) 
                        of this subparagraph.
                    ``(E) Rules of construction.--
                            ``(i) Prevention of calls.--For purposes of 
                        a regulation prescribed under this paragraph, a 
                        call shall be considered to be prevented even 
                        if the call is recorded or redirected in a 
                        manner that allows the called party to be 
                        notified of the attempt to make the call, or to 
                        have access to a message left by the calling 
                        party.
                            ``(ii) Blocking caller identification 
                        information.--Nothing in this paragraph may be 
                        construed to require an originating provider to 
                        prevent or restrict any person from blocking 
                        the capability of any caller identification 
                        service to transmit caller identification 
                        information.
                    ``(F) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Originating provider.--The term 
                        `originating provider' means a provider of 
                        telecommunications service, or a provider of 
                        IP-enabled voice service (as defined in 
                        subsection (e)(8)), that permits a subscriber 
                        to originate a call that may be transmitted on 
                        the public switched telephone network.
                            ``(ii) Receiving provider.--The term 
                        `receiving provider' means a provider of 
                        telecommunications service, or a provider of 
                        IP-enabled voice service (as defined in 
                        subsection (e)(8)), that permits a subscriber 
                        to receive a call originating or that may be 
                        transmitted on the public switched telephone 
                        network.''.
    (b) Actions by States.--Section 227(g)(1) of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(g)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting after ``to residents of that State'' the 
        following: ``, a pattern or practice of failure to provide the 
        technology required by clause (i) of subsection (d)(4)(A) that 
        threatens or adversely affects an interest of such residents, 
        or a pattern or practice of failure to provide to such 
        residents the technology or the options, as applicable, 
        required by clause (ii) of such subsection,''; and
            (2) by inserting after ``to enjoin such calls'' the 
        following: ``or such a failure''.
    (c) Deadline and Effective Date for Regulations.--The Federal 
Communications Commission shall prescribe the regulations required by 
paragraph (4) of section 227(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
added by this section, not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. Such regulations shall apply beginning on the 
date that is 180 days after the date of prescription of such 
regulations.

SEC. 5. INTENTIONAL INTERFERENCE WITH CALL-BLOCKING TECHNOLOGY.

    (a) In General.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 227) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Intentional Interference With Call-Blocking Technology.--
            ``(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, with the 
        intent to cause harm, to take any action that causes the 
        technology offered under subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii)(II) to--
                    ``(A) incorrectly identify telephone calls as 
                originating or probably originating from an automatic 
                telephone dialing system or using or probably using an 
                artificial or prerecorded voice; or
                    ``(B) prevent (as such term is used in subsection 
                (d)(4)) the called party from receiving a call--
                            ``(i) made by a public safety entity, 
                        including public safety answering points as 
                        defined in section 222(h), emergency operations 
                        centers, or law enforcement agencies; or
                            ``(ii) to which the called party has 
                        provided prior express consent.
            ``(2) Penalties; actions by states.--Any person who 
        violates this subsection or the regulations prescribed under 
        this subsection shall be subject to the penalties set forth in 
        paragraph (5) of subsection (e), and to actions by States as 
        set forth in paragraph (6) of such subsection, in the same 
        manner and to the same extent as if such person had violated 
        such subsection or the regulations prescribed under such 
        subsection.''.
    (b) Deadline for Regulations.--The Federal Communications 
Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement subsection (i) of 
section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by this 
section, not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (c) Effective Date.--Subsection (i) of section 227 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as added by this section, shall apply 
beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the 
Federal Communications Commission prescribes regulations to implement 
such subsection.

SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Caller Name Falsification.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
Commission shall, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 
submit to Congress and publish to a publicly available website a report 
containing the findings and conclusions of a study determining how to 
minimize the extent to which caller names are falsified in caller 
identification name databases.
    (b) Technology Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and every 4 years thereafter until 
        the date of termination described in paragraph (2), the Federal 
        Communications Commission shall submit to Congress and publish 
        to a publicly available website a report that contains the 
        following information:
                    (A) The extent to which subscribers continue to 
                receive calls with misleading or inaccurate caller 
                identification information (except for calls from 
                entities with a legitimate need and calls exempted 
                pursuant to section 227(e)(3)(B)(ii) of the 
                Communications Act of 1934), including a quantitative 
                assessment of the change in the number of complaints 
                made to the Commission regarding such calls before the 
                effective date of the regulations required by paragraph 
                (4) of section 227(d) of such Act, as added by section 
                4 of this Act, and after such effective date.
                    (B) The extent to which subscribers that choose to 
                enable technology offered in accordance with section 
                227(d)(4)(A)(ii)(II) of the Communications Act of 1934, 
                as added by section 4 of this Act, continue to receive 
                calls originating from an automatic telephone dialing 
                system or using an artificial or prerecorded voice 
                (except for calls from public safety entities and calls 
                to which subscribers have provided prior express 
                consent), including a quantitative assessment of the 
                change in the number of complaints made to the 
                Commission regarding such calls before the effective 
                date of the regulations required by such section and 
                after such effective date.
                    (C) An assessment of whether the standards set 
                forth in such regulations have been successful in 
                reducing the number of the calls described in each of 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) received by subscribers, and 
                whether there have been any problems with such 
                standards or the technology required by such standards, 
                such as the prevention of calls from public safety 
                entities or calls to which subscribers have provided 
                prior express consent.
                    (D) Any recommendations for legislative or 
                regulatory action to improve such standards.
            (2) Termination.--The date of termination described in this 
        paragraph is the date on which the Federal Communications 
        Commission, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 
        determines that the report required by paragraph (1) is no 
        longer necessary because of a substantial reduction in the 
        number of calls described in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
        of such paragraph.
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