109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4709
AN ACT 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen protec-
tions for law enforcement officers and the public by 
providing criminal penalties for the fraudulent acquisition 
or unauthorized disclosure of phone records.
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 ‘‘Telephone Records and 
Privacy Protection Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) telephone records can be of great use to 
criminals because the information contained in call 
logs may include a wealth of personal data; 
(2) call logs may reveal the names of telephone 
users’ doctors, public and private relationships, busi-
ness associates, and more; 
(3) call logs are typically maintained for the ex-
clusive use of phone companies, their authorized 
agents, and authorized consumers; 
(4) telephone records have been obtained with-
out the knowledge or consent of consumers through 
the use of a number of fraudulent methods and de-
vices that include—
(A) telephone company employees selling 
data to unauthorized data brokers; 
(B) ‘‘pretexting’’, whereby a data broker or 
other person represents that they are an au-
thorized consumer and convinces an agent of 
the telephone company to release the data; or 
(C) gaining unauthorized Internet access 
to account data by improperly activating a con-
sumer’s account management features on a 
phone company’s webpage or contracting with 
an Internet-based data broker who trafficks in 
such records; and 
(5) the unauthorized disclosure of telephone 
records not only assaults individual privacy but, in 
some instances, may further acts of domestic vio-
lence or stalking, compromise the personal safety of 
law enforcement officers, their families, victims of 
crime, witnesses, or confidential informants, and un-
dermine the integrity of law enforcement investiga-
tions. 
SEC. 3. FRAUD AND RELATED ACTIVITY IN CONNECTION 
WITH 
OBTAINING 
CONFIDENTIAL 
PHONE 
RECORDS INFORMATION OF A COVERED EN-
TITY. 
(a) OFFENSE.—Chapter 47 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after section 1038 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 1039. Fraud and related activity in connection 
with 
obtaining 
confidential 
phone 
records information of a covered entity 
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL VIOLATION.—Whoever, in interstate 
or foreign commerce, knowingly and intentionally obtains,
or attempts to obtain, confidential phone records informa-
tion of a covered entity, by—
‘‘(1) making false or fraudulent statements or 
representations to an employee of a covered entity; 
‘‘(2) making such false or fraudulent state-
ments or representations to a customer of a covered 
entity; 
‘‘(3) providing a document to a covered entity 
knowing that such document is false or fraudulent; 
or 
‘‘(4) accessing customer accounts of a covered 
entity via the Internet, or by means of conduct that 
violates section 1030 of this title, without prior au-
thorization from the customer to whom such con-
fidential phone records information relates; 
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 
than 10 years, or both. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON SALE OR TRANSFER OF CON-
FIDENTIAL PHONE RECORDS INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) Except as otherwise permitted by applica-
ble law, whoever, in interstate or foreign commerce, 
knowingly and intentionally sells or transfers, or at-
tempts to sell or transfer, confidential phone records 
information of a covered entity, without prior au-
thorization from the customer to whom such con-
fidential phone records information relates, or know-
ing or having reason to know such information was 
obtained fraudulently, shall be fined under this title, 
imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the excep-
tions specified in section 222(d) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 shall apply for the use of confiden-
tial phone records information by any covered entity, 
as defined in subsection (h). 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OR RECEIPT OF 
CONFIDENTIAL PHONE RECORDS INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) Except as otherwise permitted by applica-
ble law, whoever, in interstate or foreign commerce, 
knowingly and intentionally purchases or receives, or 
attempts to purchase or receive, confidential phone 
records information of a covered entity, without 
prior authorization from the customer to whom such 
confidential phone records information relates, or 
knowing or having reason to know such information 
was obtained fraudulently, shall be fined under this 
title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the excep-
tions specified in section 222(d) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 shall apply for the use of confiden-
tial phone records information by any covered entity, 
as defined in subsection (h). 
‘‘(d) ENHANCED
PENALTIES
FOR
AGGRAVATED 
CASES.—Whoever violates, or attempts to violate, sub-
section (a), (b), or (c) while violating another law of the 
United States or as part of a pattern of any illegal activity 
involving more than $100,000, or more than 50 customers 
of a covered entity, in a 12-month period shall, in addition 
to the penalties provided for in such subsection, be fined 
twice the amount provided in subsection (b)(3) or (c)(3) 
(as the case may be) of section 3571 of this title, impris-
oned for not more than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(e) ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR USE OF INFORMA-
TION
IN FURTHERANCE
OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL OF-
FENSES.—
‘‘(1) Whoever, violates, or attempts to violate, 
subsection (a), (b), or (c) knowing that such infor-
mation may be used in furtherance of, or with the 
intent to commit, an offense described in section 
2261, 2261A, 2262, or any other crime of violence 
shall, in addition to the penalties provided for in 
such subsection, be fined under this title and impris-
oned not more than 5 years. 
‘‘(2) Whoever, violates, or attempts to violate, 
subsection (a), (b), or (c) knowing that such infor-
mation may be used in furtherance of, or with the 
intent to commit, an offense under section 111, 115, 
1114, 1503, 1512, 1513, or to intimidate, threaten, 
harass, injure, or kill any Federal, State, or local 
law enforcement officer shall, in addition to the pen-
alties provided for in such subsection, be fined under 
this title and imprisoned not more than 5 years. 
‘‘(f) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—There is 
extraterritorial jurisdiction over an offense under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(g) NONAPPLICABILITY
TO LAW ENFORCEMENT 
AGENCIES.—This section does not prohibit any lawfully 
authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity 
of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, 
or political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence 
agency of the United States. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIAL PHONE RECORDS INFOR-
MATION.—The term ‘confidential phone records in-
formation’ means information that—
‘‘(A) relates to the quantity, technical con-
figuration, 
type, 
destination, 
location, 
or 
amount of use of a service offered by a covered 
entity, subscribed to by any customer of that 
covered entity, and kept by or on behalf of that
covered entity solely by virtue of the relation-
ship between that covered entity and the cus-
tomer; 
‘‘(B) is made available to a covered entity 
by a customer solely by virtue of the relation-
ship between that covered entity and the cus-
tomer; or 
‘‘(C) is contained in any bill, itemization, 
or account statement provided to a customer by 
or on behalf of a covered entity solely by virtue 
of the relationship between that covered entity 
and the customer. 
‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en-
tity’—
‘‘(A) has the same meaning given the term 
‘telecommunications carrier’ in section 3 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153); 
and 
‘‘(B) includes any provider of IP-enabled 
voice service. 
‘‘(3) CUSTOMER.—The term ‘customer’ means, 
with respect to a covered entity, any individual, part-
nership, association, joint stock company, trust, or 
corporation, or authorized representative of such
customer, to whom the covered entity provides a 
product or service. 
‘‘(4) IP-ENABLED VOICE SERVICE.—The term 
‘IP-enabled voice service’ 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 through customer prem-
ises equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or a suc-
cessor 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.’’. 
(b) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The table of sections for 
chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by adding after the item relating to section 1038 the fol-
lowing:
‘‘1039. Fraud and related activity in connection with obtaining confidential 
phone records information of a covered entity.’’.
SEC. 4. SENTENCING GUIDELINES. 
(a) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the United 
States Sentencing Commission, pursuant to its authority 
under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, and 
in accordance with this section, shall review and, if appro-
priate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy
statements applicable to persons convicted of any offense 
under section 1039 of title 18, United States Code. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION.—The United States Sentencing 
Commission may amend the Federal sentencing guidelines 
in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 
21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) 
as though the authority under that section had not ex-
pired.
Passed the House of Representatives April 25, 2006. 
Attest:
Clerk.
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4709
AN ACT 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to strength-
en protections for law enforcement officers and 
the public by providing criminal penalties for the 
fraudulent acquisition or unauthorized disclosure 
of phone records.