H. R. 4709
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and six 
An Act 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen protections for law enforcement 
officers and the public by providing criminal penalties for the fraudulent acquisi-
tion or unauthorized disclosure of phone records.
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 ‘‘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, business associates, 
and more; 
(3) call logs are typically maintained for the exclusive use 
of phone companies, their authorized agents, and authorized 
consumers; 
(4) telephone records have been obtained without the 
knowledge or consent of consumers through the use of a number 
of fraudulent methods and devices 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 authorized consumer and con-
vinces an agent of the telephone company to release the 
data; or 
(C) gaining unauthorized Internet access to account 
data by improperly activating a consumer’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 violence or stalking, compromise the 
personal safety of law enforcement officers, their families, vic-
tims of crime, witnesses, or confidential informants, and under-
mine the integrity of law enforcement investigations.
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SEC. 3. FRAUD AND RELATED ACTIVITY IN CONNECTION WITH 
OBTAINING CONFIDENTIAL PHONE RECORDS INFORMA-
TION OF A COVERED ENTITY. 
(a) OFFENSE.—Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1038 the following: 
‘‘§ 1039. Fraud and related activity in connection with 
obtaining confidential phone records informa-
tion of a covered entity 
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL VIOLATION.—Whoever, in interstate or foreign 
commerce, knowingly and intentionally obtains, or attempts to 
obtain, confidential phone records information of a covered entity, 
by—
‘‘(1) making false or fraudulent statements or representa-
tions to an employee of a covered entity; 
‘‘(2) making such false or fraudulent statements or rep-
resentations 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 authorization from the customer 
to whom such confidential 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 CONFIDENTIAL 
PHONE RECORDS INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) Except as otherwise permitted by applicable law, who-
ever, in interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly and inten-
tionally sells or transfers, or attempts to sell or transfer, con-
fidential phone records information of a covered entity, without 
prior authorization from the customer to whom such confiden-
tial 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 exceptions specified 
in section 222(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 shall 
apply for the use of confidential 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 applicable law, who-
ever, in interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly and inten-
tionally 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 exceptions specified 
in section 222(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 shall 
apply for the use of confidential phone records information 
by any covered entity, as defined in subsection (h). 
‘‘(d) ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR AGGRAVATED CASES.—Whoever 
violates, or attempts to violate, subsection (a), (b), or (c) while
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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, imprisoned for not more 
than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(e) ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR USE OF INFORMATION IN FUR-
THERANCE OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL OFFENSES.—
‘‘(1) Whoever, violates, or attempts to violate, subsection 
(a), (b), or (c) knowing that such information 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 imprisoned not 
more than 5 years. 
‘‘(2) Whoever, violates, or attempts to violate, subsection 
(a), (b), or (c) knowing that such information 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 penalties pro-
vided 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 section. 
‘‘(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
INFORMATION.—The 
term ‘confidential phone records information’ means informa-
tion that—
‘‘(A) relates to the quantity, technical configuration, 
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 relationship between 
that covered entity and the customer; 
‘‘(B) is made available to a covered entity by a customer 
solely by virtue of the relationship between that covered 
entity and the customer; 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 entity’—
‘‘(A) has the same meaning given the term ‘tele-
communications 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, partnership, association,
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joint stock company, trust, or corporation, or authorized rep-
resentative of such customer, to whom the covered entity pro-
vides a product or service. 
‘‘(4) IP-ENABLED
VOICE
SERVICE.—The term ‘IP-enabled 
voice service’ means the provision of real-time voice communica-
tions offered to the public, or such class of users as to be 
effectively available to the public, transmitted through customer 
premises equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or a successor pro-
tocol, (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 tele-
phone 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 following:
‘‘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 appropriate, 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 Commis-
sion 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 expired.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.