I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1004
To protect the public from the misuse of the telecommunications network
and telecommunications devices and facilities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 21, 1995
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Commerce and, in addition, to the Committee
on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To protect the public from the misuse of the telecommuni-
cations network and telecommunications devices and fa-
cilities.
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 ‘‘Communications De-
cency Act of 1995’’.
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SEC. 2. OBSCENE OR HARASSING USE OF TELECOMMUNI-
CATIONS FACILITIES UNDER THE COMMU-
NICATIONS ACT OF 1934.
(a) OFFENSES.—Section 223 of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘telephone’’ in the
matter above subparagraph (A) and inserting
‘‘telecommunications device’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘makes any comment,
request, suggestion, or proposal’’ in subpara-
graph (A) and inserting ‘‘makes, transmits, or
otherwise makes available any comment, re-
quest, suggestion, proposal, image, or other
communication’’;
(C) by striking out subparagraph (B) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(B) makes a telephone call or utilizes a
telecommunications device, whether or not con-
versation or communications ensues, without
disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy,
abuse, threaten, or harass any person at the
called number or who receives the communica-
tion;’’ and
(D) by striking out subparagraph (D) and
inserting the following:
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‘‘(D) makes repeated telephone calls or re-
peatedly initiates communication with a tele-
communications device, during which conversa-
tion or communication ensues, solely to harass
any person at the called number or who receives
the communication; or’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘telephone
facility’’ and inserting ‘‘telecommunications facility’’;
(3) in subsection (b)(1)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) by striking ‘‘telephone’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘telecommunications device’’; and
(ii) inserting ‘‘or initiated the commu-
nication’’ and ‘‘placed the call’’, and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘tele-
phone facility’’ and inserting ‘‘telecommuni-
cations facility’’; and
(4) in subsection (b)(2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) by striking ‘‘by means of tele-
phone, makes’’ and inserting ‘‘by means of
telephone or telecommunications device,
makes, knowingly transmits, or knowingly
makes available’’; and
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(ii) by inserting ‘‘or initiated the com-
munication’’ after ‘‘placed the call’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘tele-
phone facility’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘telecommunications facility’’.
(b) PENALTIES.—Section 223 of such Act (47 U.S.C.
223) is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘$50,000’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘six months’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘2 years’’.
(c) PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF ACCESS.—Sub-
section (c)(1) of such section (47 U.S.C. 223(c)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘telephone’’ and inserting ‘‘telecommuni-
cations device.’’
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The section head-
ing for such section is amended to read as follows: ‘‘OB-
SCENE
OR
HARASSING
UTILIZATION
OF
TELE-
COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES AND FACILITIES IN THE
DISTRICT
OF
COLUMBIA
OR
IN
INTERSTATE
OR
FOREIGN COMMUNICATIONS’’.
SEC. 3. OBSCENE PROGRAMMING ON CABLE TELEVISION.
Section 639 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 559) is amended by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘$100,000’’.
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SEC. 4. BROADCASTING OBSCENE LANGUAGE ON RADIO.
Section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking out ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$100,000’’.
SEC. 5. INTERCEPTION AND DISCLOSURE OF ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS.
Section 2511 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘wire, oral, or electronic
communication’’ each place it appears and in-
serting ‘‘wire, oral, electronic, or digital commu-
nication’’, and
(B) in the matter designated as ‘‘(b)’’, by
striking ‘‘oral communication’’ in the matter
above clause (i) and inserting ‘‘communica-
tion’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(a), by striking ‘‘wire or
electronic communication service’’ each place it ap-
pears (other than in the second sentence) and insert-
ing ‘‘wire, electronic, or digital communication serv-
ice’’.
SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL PROHIBITION ON BILLING FOR TOLL-
FREE TELEPHONE CALLS.
Section 228(c)(6) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 228(c)(6)) is amended—
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(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph
(C);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (D) and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘or’’;
and
(3) by adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘(E) the calling party being assessed, by
virtue of being asked to connect or otherwise
transfer to a pay-per-call service, a charge for
the call.’’.
SEC. 
7. 
SCRAMBLING 
OF 
CABLE 
CHANNELS 
FOR
NONSUBSCRIBERS.
Part IV of title VI of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 
640. 
SCRAMBLING 
OF 
CABLE 
CHANNELS 
FOR
NONSUBSCRIBERS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In providing video program-
ming unsuitable for children to any subscriber through a
cable system, a cable operator shall fully scramble or oth-
erwise fully block the video and audio portion of each
channel carrying such programming so that one not a sub-
scriber does not receive it.
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘scramble’ means to rearrange the content of the signal
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of the programming so that the programming cannot be
received by persons unauthorized to receive the program-
ming.’’.
SEC. 8. CABLE OPERATOR REFUSAL TO CARRY CERTAIN
PROGRAMS.
(a) PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL
CHANNELS.—Section 611(e) of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 531(e)) is amended by inserting before
the period the following: ‘‘, except a cable operator may
refuse to transmit any public access program or portion
of a public access program which contains obscenity, inde-
cency, or nudity’’.
(b) CABLE CHANNELS FOR COMMERCIAL USE.—Sec-
tion 612(c)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 532(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘an operator’’
and inserting ‘‘a cable operator may refuse to transmit
any leased access program or portion of a leased access
program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity.
Æ