Robocall and Call Spoofing Enforcement Improvements Act of 2015

To improve the enforcement of prohibitions on robocalls, including fraudulent robocalls. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Robocall and Call Spoofing Enforcement Improvements Act of 2015 2. Enforcement authority relating to non-licensee robocallers (a) Authority To impose forfeitures without first issuing citations Section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5) (1) by striking or in the case of in the case of (2) by inserting before the period at the end the following: , or if the person involved is engaging in violations of section 227(b)(1) of this title (b) Expansion of statute of limitations Section 503(b)(6)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 503(b)(6)(B) (1) by striking occurred more than 1 year occurred— (i) except as provided in clause (ii), more than 1 year ; (2) by striking liability. liability; or (3) by inserting after clause (i), as designated, the following: (ii) in the case of a violation of section 227(b)(1) of this title, more than 3 years prior to the date of issuance of the required notice or notice of apparent liability. . (c) Increase in maximum forfeiture Section 503(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 503(b)(2) (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking or (C) (C), (F), or (G) (2) by adding at the end the following: (G) If the violator does not hold, and is not an applicant for, a license, permit, certificate, or other authorization issued by the Commission— (i) the amount of any forfeiture penalty determined under this subsection for a violation of section 227(b)(1) of this title shall not exceed $25,000 for each violation or each day of a continuing violation; and (ii) there shall be no limit on the total amount assessed for any continuing violation of section 227(b)(1) of this title. . 3. Amendments to Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 (a) Communications from outside United States Section 227(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1) or any person outside the United States if the recipient is within the United States, United States, (b) Clarification of definition of IP-Enabled voice service Section 227(e)(8)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)(C) has the meaning means the provision of real-time voice communications offered to the public, or such class of users as to be effectively available to the public, transmitted using Internet protocol, or a successor protocol, (whether part of a bundle of services or separately) with interconnection capability such that the service can originate traffic to, or terminate traffic from, the public switched telephone network, or a successor network. (c) Spoofing service (1) In general Section 227(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e) (A) by striking paragraph (4); (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: (3) Spoofing services (A) In general A provider of a spoofing service shall take such steps as the Commission may prescribe to verify that a person does not use the service in violation of this subsection. (B) Recordkeeping and reporting The Commission shall impose reasonable recordkeeping and reporting obligations on a provider of a spoofing service, and shall adopt any other regulation that the Commission determines necessary, to prevent or investigate violations of this subsection. (C) Subpoena authority Notwithstanding chapter 121 ; and (D) in paragraph (8), by adding at the end the following: (D) Spoofing service The term spoofing service . (2) Conforming amendment Section 227(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1) paragraph (3)(B) paragraph (4)(B) (d) Text messaging service Section 227(e)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8) (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting (including a text message sent using a text messaging service) (2) in the first sentence of subparagraph (B), by inserting (including a text message sent using a text messaging service) (3) by adding at the end the following: (E) Text message The term text message (i) means a real-time or near real-time 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; (ii) includes a short message service (commonly referred to as SMS EMS MMS (iii) does not include a real-time, 2-way voice or video communication. (F) Text messaging service The term text messaging service . (e) Savings clause Section 227(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e) (10) Savings clause Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to— (A) modify or limit the authority of the Commission under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 ( Public Law 102–243 15 U.S.C. 7701 et seq. Robocall and Call Spoofing Enforcement Improvements Act of 2015 call (B) modify, limit, or otherwise affect any rule or order adopted by the Commission in connection with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, the amendments made by that Act, or the CAN–SPAM Act of 2003. . (f) Regulations (1) In general Section 227(e)(4)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(4)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, the Commission The Commission (2) Deadline Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made by this section. (g) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 6 months after the date on which the Federal Communications Commission prescribes regulations to implement the amendments made by this section. 4. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) telecommunications carriers have the legal authority to offer consumers services that block or filter robocalls; and (2) the Federal Government, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, should encourage telecommunications carriers to develop and implement the services described in paragraph (1).

Summary: Robocall and Call Spoofing Enforcement Improvements Act of 2015 Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose forfeiture penalties without first sending a citation regarding the charged violation against persons not licensed by the FCC who violate prohibitions on the use of automated telephone equipment. (Currently, if existing exceptions do not apply, forfeiture penalties may not be imposed unless the person is sent a citation prior to a notice of apparent liability and that person subsequently engages in the same type of conduct described in the citation.) Expands the statute of limitations period and increases the maximum forfeiture penalty applicable to non-licensed automated telephone equipment violations. Expands prohibitions on the provision of inaccurate caller identification information to persons outside the United States if the recipient is within the United States. Directs providers of spoofing services to take such steps as the FCC may prescribe to verify that users do not engage in caller identification information violations. Defines "spoofing service" as a service that substitutes, or permits a user to substitute, another name or any number for display as the caller identification information for a call or text message. Requires the FCC to impose recordkeeping and reporting obligations on spoofing service providers. Authorizes the FCC to subpoena caller identification information transmitted by a subscriber to or customer of the spoofing service. Expands the definition "caller identification information" to include text messages. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) telecommunications carriers have the legal authority to offer consumers services that block or filter robocalls, and (2) the federal government should encourage telecommunications carriers to develop and implement such services.