Title: Stopping Bad Robocalls Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Stopping Bad Robocalls Act
This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand prohibitions against autodialed calls to include the making of robocalls. A "robocall" is a call or text message made: (1) using equipment that makes a series of calls to stored telephone numbers, including numbers stored on a list, or to telephone numbers produced using a random or sequential number generator; or (2) using an artificial or prerecorded voice. The definition does not include calls made on equipment that requires substantial additional human intervention to dial or place a call after a human initiates the series of calls.
The bill also:
The FCC shall establish a nationwide database of telephone numbers that have been reassigned to other consumers and safe harbor provisions to protect voice service providers against errors in the database, (2) make annual reports to Congress on its progress in stopping robocalls, and (3) prescribe regulations requiring voice service providers to implement caller identification information authentication standards.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3078 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3078

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify the prohibitions on 
               making robocalls, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2018

  Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify the prohibitions on 
               making robocalls, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Stopping Bad Robocalls Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON MAKING ROBOCALLS.

    (a) In General.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 227) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
        follows:
            ``(1) The term `robocall' means a call made (including a 
        text message sent)--
                    ``(A) using equipment that makes a series of calls 
                to stored telephone numbers, including numbers stored 
                on a list, or to telephone numbers produced using a 
                random or sequential number generator, except for a 
                call made using only equipment that the caller 
                demonstrates requires substantial additional human 
                intervention to dial or place a call after a human 
                initiates the series of calls; or
                    ``(B) using an artificial or prerecorded voice.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``any call'' and 
                                inserting ``any robocall''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``using any 
                                automatic telephone dialing system or 
                                an artificial or prerecorded voice'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) by striking ``telephone call'' 
                                and inserting ``robocall''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``using an 
                                artificial or prerecorded voice to 
                                deliver a message''; and
                            (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
                        ``use an automatic telephone dialing system'' 
                        and inserting ``make robocalls''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``calls made 
                using an artificial or prerecorded voice'' and 
                inserting ``robocalls'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A)--
                            (i) by striking ``telephone call using any 
                        automatic telephone dialing system'' and 
                        inserting ``robocall described in subsection 
                        (a)(1)(A) using any equipment''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``or automatic telephone 
                        dialing system'' and inserting ``or to make any 
                        robocall described in subsection (a)(1)(A)''; 
                        and
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in the heading, by inserting 
                        ``robocall'' after ``voice'';
                            (ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``artificial or prerecorded 
                        voice message via telephone'' and inserting 
                        ``robocall described in subsection (a)(1)(B)''; 
                        and
                            (iii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``all artificial or prerecorded telephone 
                        messages'' and inserting ``the artificial or 
                        prerecorded voice message contained in any 
                        robocall described in that subsection''; and
            (4) in subsection (f)(1)--
                    (A) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(B) the making of robocalls; or''; and
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
                subparagraph (C).
    (b) Manner of Revoking Prior Express Consent.--Section 227(b) of 
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (5); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Manner of revoking prior express consent.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, prior express consent may be 
        revoked at any time and in any reasonable manner, regardless of 
        the context in which consent was provided.''.
    (c) Deadline for Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
prescribe such regulations, or amend such existing regulations, as 
necessary to implement the amendments made by this section.
    (d) Report to Congress on Text Messages.--Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, after notice and an 
opportunity for public comment, the Federal Communications Commission 
shall submit to Congress a report on how best to limit the number of 
unwanted text messages received by consumers. The report shall contain 
recommendations by the Commission, including recommendations for 
potential legislation.

SEC. 3. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR EXEMPTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 227(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``; and'' at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(I) shall ensure that any exemption under 
                subparagraph (B) or (C) contains requirements for calls 
                made in reliance on the exemption with respect to--
                            ``(i) the classes or categories of parties 
                        that may make those calls;
                            ``(ii) the classes or categories of parties 
                        that may be called;
                            ``(iii) the purposes for which the calls 
                        may be made;
                            ``(iv) the number of calls that a calling 
                        party may make to a particular called party; 
                        and
                            ``(v) the obligation of the calling party--
                                    ``(I) to provide the called party 
                                with a conspicuous consumer choice 
                                mechanism that permits the called 
                                party, at any time, to indicate that 
                                the called party wishes to stop 
                                receiving the calls from the calling 
                                party; and
                                    ``(II) to stop making the calls to 
                                the called party if the called party so 
                                indicates.''.
    (b) Deadline for Regulations.--In the case of any exemption issued 
under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 227(b)(2) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(2)) before the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, shall, 
not later than 1 year after that date of enactment, prescribe such 
regulations, or amend such existing regulations, as necessary to ensure 
that the exemption meets the requirements of subparagraph (I) of such 
section 227(b)(2), as added by subsection (a).

SEC. 4. REASSIGNED NUMBER DATABASE; SAFE HARBOR.

    (a) In General.--Section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 227(b)), as amended by section 2(b), is further amended by 
inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) Reassigned number database; safe harbor.--
                    ``(A) Database required.--
                            ``(i) Establishment.--The Commission shall 
                        establish a nationwide database of telephone 
                        numbers that have been reassigned in order to 
                        provide persons making calls subject to this 
                        subsection with the comprehensive and timely 
                        information that those persons need to avoid 
                        making calls without the prior express consent 
                        of the called party because of the reassignment 
                        of the number called to a different party.
                            ``(ii) Current information.--The Commission 
                        shall ensure that information in the database 
                        required under clause (i) is up-to-date.
                    ``(B) Provider participation required.--The 
                Commission shall require each covered provider to 
                report to the database required under subparagraph (A) 
                the reassignment of any telephone number to or from a 
                subscriber of the provider.
                    ``(C) Safe harbor.--Beginning on the date of the 
                establishment of the database required under 
                subparagraph (A), in the case of a person who makes a 
                call subject to this subsection to a telephone number 
                that has been reassigned from a subscriber who had 
                given prior express consent to be called by the person, 
                the person shall not be found in violation of this 
                subsection on the basis of not having the prior express 
                consent of the called party to make the call, if the 
                person shows that--
                            ``(i) the person had the prior express 
                        consent of the subscriber and that consent had 
                        not been revoked as of the time of the call;
                            ``(ii) the person queried the database 
                        before making the call, the query did not show 
                        the number as being reassigned from the 
                        subscriber, and the person made the call within 
                        a reasonable period of time (as defined by the 
                        Commission) after the query;
                            ``(iii) the query did not show the number 
                        as being reassigned from the subscriber as a 
                        result of an inaccuracy on the part of--
                                    ``(I) the Commission or other 
                                entity administering the database; or
                                    ``(II) a covered provider in 
                                reassigning the number or in making a 
                                report to the database about the 
                                reassignment of the number;
                            ``(iv) the person did not otherwise know or 
                        have any reason to know that the number had 
                        been reassigned from the subscriber;
                            ``(v) the call would have complied with the 
                        requirements of this subsection but for the 
                        lack of the prior express consent of the called 
                        party; and
                            ``(vi) the person--
                                    ``(I) took affirmative steps to 
                                correct the internal records of the 
                                person with respect to the number; and
                                    ``(II) reported to the database any 
                                inaccuracy that the person discovered 
                                with respect to the number in the 
                                database.
                    ``(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall be construed to preclude the Commission 
                from contracting with a private entity to provide the 
                database required under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(E) Covered provider defined.--In this paragraph, 
                the term `covered provider' means a provider of voice 
                service or text messaging service (as those terms are 
                defined in subsection (e)(8)).''.
    (b) Called Party Defined.--
            (1) In general.--Section 227(a) of the Communications Act 
        of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
            ``(6) The term `called party' means, with respect to a 
        call, the current subscriber of the telephone number to which 
        the call is made, determined at the time when the call is 
        made.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 227(d)(3)(B) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(d)(3)(B)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``called party's line'' each place 
                it appears and inserting ``telephone line called''; and
                    (B) by striking ``called party has hung up'' and 
                inserting ``answering party has hung up''.
    (c) Deadline for Regulations and Establishment of Database.--Not 
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Federal Communications Commission shall--
            (1) prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made 
        by this section; and
            (2) establish the database required by such amendments.
    (d) Transitional Rule Regarding Definition of Covered Provider.--
Subsection (b)(4)(E) of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 227), as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall 
apply before the effective date of the amendment made to subsection 
(e)(8) of such section 227 by section 503(a)(2)(C) of division P of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141) as if that 
amendment was already in effect.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Annual Report to Congress on Robocalls and Transmission of 
Misleading or Inaccurate Caller Identification Information.--
            ``(1) Report required.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, and 
        annually thereafter, the Commission, after consultation with 
        the Federal Trade Commission, shall submit to Congress a report 
        regarding enforcement by the Commission of subsections (b), 
        (d), and (e) during the preceding calendar year.
            ``(2) Matters for inclusion.--Each report required under 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:
                    ``(A) The number of complaints received by the 
                Commission during each of the preceding 5 calendar 
                years, for each of the following categories:
                            ``(i) Complaints alleging that a consumer 
                        received a robocall in violation of subsection 
                        (b).
                            ``(ii) Complaints alleging that a consumer 
                        received a robocall in violation of the 
                        standards prescribed under subsection (d).
                            ``(iii) Complaints alleging that a consumer 
                        received a call in connection with which 
                        misleading or inaccurate caller identification 
                        information was transmitted in violation of 
                        subsection (e).
                    ``(B) The number of citations issued by the 
                Commission under section 503(b) during the preceding 
                calendar year to enforce subsection (d), and details of 
                each citation.
                    ``(C) The number of notices of apparent liability 
                issued by the Commission under section 503(b) during 
                the preceding calendar year to enforce subsections (b), 
                (d), and (e), and details of each notice, including the 
                proposed forfeiture amount.
                    ``(D) The number of final orders imposing 
                forfeiture penalties issued under section 503(b) during 
                the preceding calendar year to enforce subsections (b), 
                (d), and (e), and details of each order, including the 
                total forfeiture imposed.
                    ``(E) The amount of forfeiture penalties or 
                criminal fines collected, during the preceding calendar 
                year, by the Commission or the Attorney General for 
                violations of subsections (b), (d), and (e), and 
                details of each case in which a forfeiture penalty or 
                criminal fine was collected.
                    ``(F) Proposals for reducing by half the number of 
                calls made in violation of subsections (b), (d), and 
                (e).
                    ``(G) An analysis of the contribution by providers 
                of interconnected VoIP service and non-interconnected 
                VoIP service that discount high-volume, short-duration 
                calls to the total number of robocalls, and 
                recommendations on how to address that contribution in 
                order to decrease the total number of robocalls.''.

SEC. 6. REGULATIONS RELATING TO CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION 
              AUTHENTICATION STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Commission shall prescribe regulations in the Call 
Authentication Trust Anchor proceeding (WC Docket No. 17-97).
    (b) Requirements for Caller Identification Information 
Authentication Technology.--
            (1) In general.--The regulations required under subsection 
        (a) shall require providers of voice service to implement, by a 
        date specified by the Commission, caller identification 
        information authentication technology that has the ability to--
                    (A) verify that any caller identification 
                information transmitted in connection with a call 
                (including a call originating outside the United States 
                if the recipient is within the United States) is--
                            (i) accurate; or
                            (ii) exempted under the regulations 
                        promulgated under paragraph (3) of section 
                        227(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
                        U.S.C. 227(e)) from the prohibition under 
                        paragraph (1) of that section; and
                    (B) prevent a subscriber from receiving a call 
                unless--
                            (i) any caller identification information 
                        transmitted in connection with the call is 
                        verified as described in subparagraph (A); or
                            (ii) no caller identification information 
                        is transmitted in connection with the call, 
                        whether because a person has blocked the 
                        capability of a caller identification service 
                        to transmit the information in accordance with 
                        paragraph (2) of section 227(e) of the 
                        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)) 
                        or otherwise.
            (2) Unblocking requests.--The regulations required under 
        subsection (a) shall require a provider of voice service to--
                    (A) accept a request from a subscriber of the 
                service, a calling party, or another provider of voice 
                service for the caller identification information 
                authentication technology required under paragraph (1) 
                of this subsection to allow the completion of a call in 
                connection with which caller identification information 
                is transmitted but not verified as described in 
                subparagraph (A) of that paragraph; and
                    (B) if the request described in subparagraph (A) 
                meets criteria prescribed by the Commission in those 
                regulations, grant the request.
            (3) No additional cost to subscribers.--The regulations 
        required under subsection (a) shall prohibit providers of voice 
        service from making any additional charge to subscribers for 
        the caller identification information authentication technology 
        required under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Caller identification information.--The term ``caller 
        identification information'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 227(e)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        227(e)(8)).
            (2) Caller identification service.--The term ``caller 
        identification service'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 227(e)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        227(e)(8)).
            (3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (4) Voice service.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``voice service'' has the 
                meaning given the term in section 227(e)(8) of the 
                Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)).
                    (B) Transition rule.--Subparagraph (A) shall apply 
                before the effective date of the amendment made to the 
                section described in that subparagraph by section 
                503(a)(2)(C) of division P of the Consolidated 
                Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141) as if the 
                amendment was already in effect.
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