Title: TRACED Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or the TRACED Act
This bill implements a forfeiture penalty for intentional violations of the prohibition on certain robocalls. The bill also limits the scope of an annual reporting requirement for enforcement relating to unsolicited facsimile advertisements.
The bill requires voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall promulgate rules establishing when a provider may block a voice call based on information provided by the call authentication framework, but also must establish a process to permit a calling party adversely affected by the framework to verify the authenticity of their calls. The FCC shall also initiate a rulemaking to help protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or texts from a caller using an unauthenticated number.
This bill requires the Department of Justice to assemble an interagency working group to study and report to Congress on the enforcement of the prohibition of certain robocalls. Specifically, the working group will look into how to better enforce against robocalls by examining issues like the types of laws, policies, or constraints that could be inhibiting enforcement.
The bill requires the FCC to initiate a proceeding to determine whether its policies regarding access to number resources could be modified to help reduce access to numbers by potential robocall violators.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7392 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7392

   To deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforcement of 
    section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 21, 2018

  Mr. Babin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforcement of 
    section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, 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 ``Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal 
Enforcement and Deterrence Act'' or the ``TRACED Act''.

SEC. 2. FORFEITURE.

    (a) In General.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 227) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Civil forfeiture.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any person that is determined by 
                the Commission, in accordance with section 503(b)(3) or 
                section 503(b)(4), to have violated this subsection 
                with the intent to cause such violation shall be liable 
                to the United States for a forfeiture penalty. A 
                forfeiture penalty under this paragraph shall be in 
                addition to any other penalty provided for by this Act. 
                The amount of the forfeiture penalty determined under 
                this paragraph shall not exceed $10,000 for each 
                violation.
                    ``(B) Recovery.--Any forfeiture penalty determined 
                under subparagraph (A) shall be recoverable under 
                section 504(a).
                    ``(C) Procedure.--No forfeiture liability shall be 
                determined under subparagraph (A) against any person 
                unless such person receives the notice required by 
                section 503(b)(3) or section 503(b)(4).
                    ``(D) Statute of limitations.--No forfeiture 
                penalty shall be determined or imposed against any 
                person under subparagraph (A) if the violation charged 
                occurred more than 3 years prior to the date of 
                issuance of the required notice or notice or apparent 
                liability.
                    ``(E) Forfeiture under section 503.--
                Notwithstanding section 503(b)(1), nothing in this 
                paragraph may be construed to affect the authority of 
                the Commission to impose a forfeiture penalty under 
                section 503(b)(1)(B) against a person who is determined 
                by the Commission, in accordance with that section, to 
                have failed to comply with any provision of this 
                subsection.
            ``(5) Criminal fine.--Any person who violates this 
        subsection with the intent to cause such violation shall upon 
        conviction thereof be fined not more than $10,000 for each 
        violation, or 3 times that amount for each day of a continuing 
        violation, in lieu of the fine provided by section 501 of this 
        title for such a violation. This subparagraph does not 
        supercede the provisions of section 501 of this title relating 
        to imprisonment or the imposition of a penalty of both fine and 
        imprisonment.''; and
            (2) in subsection (h)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (2);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) as 
                paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively;
                    (C) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, by striking 
                ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting ``paragraph (2)''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by striking 
                ``paragraph (5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (4)''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall not 
affect any action or proceeding commenced before and pending on the 
date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Deadline for Regulations.--The Federal Communications 
Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made 
by this section not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 3. CALL AUTHENTICATION.

    (a) Authentication Framework.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Federal 
        Communications Commission shall require, not later than 18 
        months after the date of enactment of this Act, a provider of 
        voice service to implement an appropriate and effective call 
        authentication framework in the internet protocol networks of 
        voice service providers.
            (2) Implementation.--The Federal Communications 
        Commission--
                    (A) shall not take the action described in 
                subsection (a)(1) if the Federal Communications 
                Commission determines, after public notice and an 
                opportunity for comment, that each provider of voice 
                services, not later than 12 months after the date of 
                enactment of this Act--
                            (i) has established voluntary rules for an 
                        appropriate and effective call authentication 
                        framework in the internet protocol networks of 
                        voice service providers;
                            (ii) has agreed voluntarily to participate 
                        in the authentication framework under clause 
                        (i);
                            (iii) has begun to implement the 
                        authentication framework under clause (i); and
                            (iv) will fully implement the appropriate 
                        and effective call authentication framework 
                        under clause (i), not later than 18 months 
                        after the date of enactment of this Act, 
                        subject to subparagraph (B); and
                    (B) may extend the deadline for implementation of 
                the call authentication framework under paragraph (1) 
                or subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, as applicable, 
                for an additional 12 months, or such further time as 
                the Federal Communications Commission determines to be 
                necessary, for a provider that demonstrates substantial 
                hardship in purchasing or upgrading equipment to 
                support call authentication.
    (b) Safe Harbor and Other Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal Communications Commission 
        shall promulgate rules--
                    (A) affirming authority for a provider of voice 
                service to block a voice call pursuant to the 
                authentication framework under paragraph (1) or 
                paragraph (2) of subsection (a), as applicable;
                    (B) establishing a safe harbor for a provider of 
                voice service from liability for unintended or 
                inadvertent blocking of calls or for the unintended or 
                inadvertent misidentification of the level of trust for 
                individual calls pursuant to the authentication 
                framework under paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of 
                subsection (a), as applicable; and
                    (C) establishing a process to permit a calling 
                party adversely affected by the authentication 
                framework under paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of 
                subsection (a), as applicable, to verify the 
                authenticity of the calling party's calls.
            (2) Considerations.--In establishing the safe harbor under 
        paragraph (1), the Federal Communications Commission shall 
        consider limiting the liability of providers based on the 
        extent to which they--
                    (A) block or identify calls based on the 
                authentication framework under paragraph (1) or 
                paragraph (2) of subsection (a), as applicable;
                    (B) implemented procedures based on the framework; 
                and
                    (C) used reasonable care.
    (c) Definition of Voice Service.--In this section, the term ``voice 
service''--
            (1) means any service that is interconnected with the 
        public switched telephone network and that furnishes voice 
        communications to an end user using resources from the North 
        American Numbering Plan or any successor to the North American 
        Numbering Plan adopted by the Commission under section 
        251(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        251(e)(1)); and
            (2) includes--
                    (A) transmissions from a telephone facsimile 
                machine, computer, or other device to a telephone 
                facsimile machine; and
                    (B) without limitation, any service that enables 
                real-time, two-way voice communications, including any 
                service that requires Internet protocol-compatible 
                customer premises equipment (CPE) and permits out-bound 
                calling, whether or not the service is one-way or two-
                way voice over Internet protocol.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall preclude 
the Federal Communications Commission from initiating a rulemaking 
pursuant to its existing statutory authority.

SEC. 4. PROTECTIONS FROM SPOOFED CALLS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and consistent with the authentication framework under 
paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of section 3(a), as applicable, the 
Federal Communications Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to help 
protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or text messages 
from a caller using an unauthenticated number.
    (b) Considerations.--In promulgating rules under subsection (a), 
the Federal Communications Commission shall consider--
            (1) the Government Accountability Office report on 
        combating the fraudulent provision of misleading or inaccurate 
        caller identification required by section 503(c) of division P 
        of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018 (Public Law 115-
        141; 132 Stat. 348);
            (2) the best means of ensuring that a subscriber or 
        provider has the ability to block calls from a caller using an 
        unauthenticated number;
            (3) the impact on the privacy of a telephone subscriber 
        from unauthenticated calls;
            (4) the effectiveness in verifying the accuracy of caller 
        identification information; and
            (5) the availability and cost of providing protection from 
        the unwanted calls or text messages described in subsection 
        (a).

SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General of the United States, in 
consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Communications 
Commission, shall convene an interagency working group to study 
Government prosecution of violations of section 227(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)).
    (b) Duties.--In carrying out the study under subsection (a), the 
interagency working group shall--
            (1) determine whether, and if so how, any Federal law, 
        including regulations, policies, and practices, or budgetary or 
        jurisdictional constraints inhibit the prosecution of such 
        violations;
            (2) identify existing and potential Federal policies and 
        programs that encourage and improve coordination among Federal 
        departments and agencies and States, and between States, in the 
        prevention and prosecution of such violations;
            (3) identify existing and potential international policies 
        and programs that encourage and improve coordination between 
        nations in the prevention and prosecution of such violations; 
        and
            (4) consider--
                    (A) the benefit and potential sources of additional 
                resources for the Federal prevention and prosecution of 
                criminal violations of that section;
                    (B) whether to establish memoranda of understanding 
                regarding the prevention and prosecution of such 
                violations between--
                            (i) the States;
                            (ii) the States and the Federal Government; 
                        and
                            (iii) the Federal Government and a foreign 
                        government;
                    (C) whether to establish a process to allow States 
                to request Federal subpoenas from the Federal 
                Communications Commission;
                    (D) whether extending civil enforcement to the 
                States would assist in the successful prevention and 
                prosecution of such violations;
                    (E) whether increased forfeiture and imprisonment 
                penalties are appropriate, such as extending 
                imprisonment for such a violation to a term longer than 
                2 years;
                    (F) whether regulation of any entity that enters 
                into a business arrangement with a carrier for the 
                specific purpose of carrying, routing, or transmitting 
                a call that constitutes such a violation would assist 
                in the successful prevention and prosecution of such 
                violations; and
                    (G) the extent to which, if any, Department of 
                Justice policies to pursue the prosecution of 
                violations causing economic harm, physical danger, or 
                erosion of an inhabitant's peace of mind and sense of 
                security inhibits the prevention or prosecution of such 
                violations.
    (c) Members.--The interagency working group shall be composed of 
such representatives of Federal departments and agencies as the 
Attorney General considers appropriate, such as--
            (1) the Department of Commerce;
            (2) the Department of State;
            (3) the Department of Homeland Security;
            (4) the Federal Communications Commission;
            (5) the Federal Trade Commission; and
            (6) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
    (d) Non-Federal Stakeholders.--In carrying out the study under 
subsection (a), the interagency working group shall consult with such 
non-Federal stakeholders as the Attorney General determines have the 
relevant expertise, including the National Association of Attorneys 
General.
    (e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 9 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the interagency working group shall submit to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives a report on the findings of the study under subsection 
(a), including--
            (1) any recommendations regarding the prevention and 
        prosecution of such violations; and
            (2) a description of what process, if any, relevant Federal 
        departments and agencies have made in implementing the 
        recommendations under paragraph (1).

SEC. 6. ACCESS TO NUMBER RESOURCES.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Federal Communications Commission shall commence a proceeding to 
determine whether Federal Communications Commission policies regarding 
access to number resources could be modified, including by establishing 
registration and compliance obligations, to help reduce access to 
numbers by potential perpetrators of violations of section 227(b) of 
the Communications Act of 1935 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)).
                                 <all>