I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5717 
To establish a reward system to provide monetary awards to individuals 
who provide information relating to violations of the CAN–SPAM Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 8, 2008 
Mr. MCCOTTER (for himself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. MEEKS of New York) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish a reward system to provide monetary awards 
to individuals who provide information relating to viola-
tions of the CAN–SPAM Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inform and Deter 
Spam Act’’ or the ‘‘ID Spam Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REWARD SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING 
VIOLATIONS OF THE CAN–SPAM ACT. 
Section 11 of the CAN–SPAM Act of 2003 (15 
U.S.C. 7710) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 11. REWARDS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT VIOLA-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—If in any judicial or 
administrative action brought by the Commission 
under this Act, the Commission obtains a civil pen-
alty against any person for a violation of this Act, 
the amount of such civil penalty shall, on the motion 
or at the direction of the Commission, be added to 
and become part of a fund established for the pro-
viding of rewards to individuals who provide infor-
mation concerning a violation of this Act. 
‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE
OF
ADDITIONAL
DONA-
TIONS.—The Commission is authorized to accept, 
hold, administer, and utilize gifts, bequests and de-
vises of property, both real and personal, to the 
United States for a fund described in paragraph (1). 
Such gifts, bequests and devises of money and pro-
ceeds from sales of other property received as gifts, 
bequests and devises shall be deposited in the fund 
established under paragraph (1) and shall be avail-
able for the purposes of such fund as described in 
such paragraph. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY AND AMOUNT OF REWARD.—The 
Commission may grant a reward in an amount not to ex-
ceed $100,000 to any individual determined by the Com-
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mission to have provided valuable information concerning 
a violation of this Act which resulted in the imposition 
of a final court order against the person or persons found 
in violation of this Act. 
‘‘(c) REWARD DETERMINATION SOLE DISCRETION 
OF THE COMMISSION.—The Commission shall have the 
sole discretion to determine the eligibility for and the 
amount of any reward granted under this section. Any de-
cision by the Commission relating to the granting of a re-
ward, including whether, to whom, or in what amount 
shall be final and shall not be subject to judicial review. 
No person is authorized under this section to make any 
offer or promise or to otherwise bind the Commission with 
respect to the payment of any reward authorized under 
this section. 
‘‘(d) NO GRANT OF IMMUNITY.—The receipt of a re-
ward under this section shall not constitute immunity 
from criminal liability. 
‘‘(e) UNLAWFUL TO PROVIDE FALSE INFORMA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) CONDUCT PROHIBITED.—It shall be un-
lawful for any person to provide any information to 
the Commission that such person knows or should 
know to be false. 
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‘‘(2) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates 
paragraph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United 
States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 
years, or both. Any person who violates paragraph 
(1) may be held civilly liable to the United States 
and assessed a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000. 
‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Commission is authorized 
to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 
the reward system authorized by this section. Such regula-
tions may include establishing procedures for filing a claim 
of a reward under this section and procedures for main-
taining the anonymity of informants who provide informa-
tion to the Commission concerning violations of this Act.’’. 
SEC. 3. STUDY ON THE UTILITY OF THE REWARD SYSTEM. 
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Federal 
Trade Commission shall transmit a report to Congress on 
the utility of the reward system established under section 
1, including the number and amount of rewards granted 
and the number of successful enforcement actions result-
ing from information reported to the Commission for 
which a reward was granted. 
Æ 
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