[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 151 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.151
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen
An Act
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,

1f9a4a33786c4a50cfa794ff0faa35d64a517ac0ea204d00f55c4e9e64e8b448

This Act may be cited as the ``Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall
Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act'' or the ``Pallone-Thune
TRACED Act''.

fcbe01f25ebb07937e590a0ebf9e557f7b58aa0ff2950b20066249e3c20c5aa4

In this Act, the term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.

ce99861a4e1ff637110d9b6bdf9149e2b1618d2edb0ddf7e91a878d982ab0e10

(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 paragraph (3) or (4) of section
503(b), to have violated this subsection shall be liable to the
United States for a forfeiture penalty pursuant to section
503(b)(1). Paragraph (5) of section 503(b) shall not apply in
the case of a violation of this subsection. A forfeiture
penalty under this subparagraph shall be in addition to any
other penalty provided for by this Act. The amount of the
forfeiture penalty determined under this subparagraph shall be
determined in accordance with subparagraphs (A) through (F) of
section 503(b)(2).
``(B) Violation with intent.--Any person that is determined
by the Commission, in accordance with paragraph (3) or (4) of
section 503(b), to have violated this subsection with the
intent to cause such violation shall be liable to the United
States for a forfeiture penalty pursuant to section 503(b)(1).
Paragraph (5) of section 503(b) shall not apply in the case of
a violation of this subsection. A forfeiture penalty under this
subparagraph shall be in addition to any other penalty provided
for by this Act. The amount of the forfeiture penalty
determined under this subparagraph shall be equal to an amount
determined in accordance with subparagraphs (A) through (F) of
section 503(b)(2) plus an additional penalty not to exceed
$10,000.
``(C) Recovery.--Any forfeiture penalty determined under
subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be recoverable under section
504(a).
``(D) Procedure.--No forfeiture liability shall be
determined under subparagraph (A) or (B) against any person
unless such person receives the notice required by section
503(b)(3) or section 503(b)(4).
``(E) Statute of limitations.--Notwithstanding paragraph
(6) of section 503(b), no forfeiture penalty shall be
determined or imposed against any person--
``(i) under subparagraph (A) if the violation charged
occurred more than 1 year prior to the date of issuance of
the required notice or notice of apparent liability; or
``(ii) under subparagraph (B) if the violation charged
occurred more than 4 years prior to the date of issuance of
the required notice or notice of apparent liability.
``(F) Rule of construction.--Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary, the Commission may not determine or impose a
forfeiture penalty on a person under both subparagraphs (A) and
(B) based on the same conduct.'';
(2) in subsection (e)(5)(A)--
(A) in clause (ii), by adding at the end the following:
``Paragraph (5) of section 503(b) shall not apply in the case
of a violation of this subsection.''; and
(B) in clause (iv)--
(i) in the heading, by striking ``2-year'' and
inserting ``4-year''; and
(ii) by striking ``2 years'' and inserting ``4 years'';
and
(3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:
``(h) 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
the enactment of this subsection, 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), (c), (d), and (e) during the
preceding calendar year.
``(2) Matters for inclusion.--Each report required by 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
call in violation of subsection (b) or (c).
``(ii) Complaints alleging that a consumer received a
call 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
pursuant to section 503(b) during the preceding calendar year
to enforce subsection (d), and details of each such citation.
``(C) The number of notices of apparent liability issued by
the Commission pursuant to section 503(b) during the preceding
calendar year to enforce subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e),
and details of each such notice including any proposed
forfeiture amount.
``(D) The number of final orders imposing forfeiture
penalties issued pursuant to section 503(b) during the
preceding calendar year to enforce such subsections, and
details of each such order including the 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 such
subsections, and details of each case in which such a
forfeiture penalty or criminal fine was collected.
``(F) Proposals for reducing the number of calls made in
violation of such subsections.
``(G) An analysis of the contribution by providers of
interconnected VoIP service and non-interconnected VoIP service
that discount high-volume, unlawful, short-duration calls to
the total number of calls made in violation of such
subsections, and recommendations on how to address such
contribution in order to decrease the total number of calls
made in violation of such subsections.
``(3) No additional reporting required.--The Commission shall
prepare the report required by paragraph (1) without requiring the
provision of additional information from providers of
telecommunications service or voice service (as defined in section
4(a) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act).''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall not
affect any action or proceeding commenced before and pending on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Deadline for Regulations.--The Commission shall prescribe
regulations to implement the amendments made by this section not later
than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

7c88940eb6cbdc1e8c7d491a6828e771c7c82b6b6e8b914992ee9ef78bf70047

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework.--The term ``STIR/
SHAKEN authentication framework'' means the secure telephone
identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted
information using tokens standards proposed by the information and
communications technology industry.
(2) Voice service.--The term ``voice service''--
(A) 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
(B) includes--
(i) transmissions from a telephone facsimile machine,
computer, or other device to a telephone facsimile machine;
and
(ii) without limitation, any service that enables real-
time, two-way voice communications, including any service
that requires internet protocol-compatible customer
premises equipment (commonly known as ``CPE'') and permits
out-bound calling, whether or not the service is one-way or
two-way voice over internet protocol.
(b) Authentication Frameworks.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), and in
accordance with paragraph (6), not later than 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall--
(A) require a provider of voice service to implement the
STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework in the internet protocol
networks of the provider of voice service; and
(B) require a provider of voice service to take reasonable
measures to implement an effective call authentication
framework in the non-internet protocol networks of the provider
of voice service.
(2) Implementation.--The Commission shall not take the action
described in paragraph (1) with respect to a provider of voice
service if the Commission determines, not later than 12 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, that such provider of
voice service--
(A) in internet protocol networks--
(i) has adopted the STIR/SHAKEN authentication
framework for calls on the internet protocol networks of
the provider of voice service;
(ii) has agreed voluntarily to participate with other
providers of voice service in the STIR/SHAKEN
authentication framework;
(iii) has begun to implement the STIR/SHAKEN
authentication framework; and
(iv) will be capable of fully implementing the STIR/
SHAKEN authentication framework not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(B) in non-internet protocol networks--
(i) has taken reasonable measures to implement an
effective call authentication framework; and
(ii) will be capable of fully implementing an effective
call authentication framework not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) Implementation report.--Not later than 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report on the determination required
under paragraph (2), which shall include--
(A) an analysis of the extent to which providers of voice
service have implemented the call authentication frameworks
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1),
including whether the availability of necessary equipment and
equipment upgrades has impacted such implementation; and
(B) an assessment of the efficacy of the call
authentication frameworks described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of paragraph (1) in addressing all aspects of call
authentication.
(4) Review and revision or replacement.--Not later than 3 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years
thereafter, the Commission, after public notice and an opportunity
for comment, shall--
(A) assess the efficacy of the technologies used for call
authentication frameworks implemented under this section;
(B) based on the assessment under subparagraph (A), revise
or replace the call authentication frameworks under this
section if the Commission determines it is in the public
interest to do so; and
(C) submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the
findings of the assessment under subparagraph (A) and on any
actions to revise or replace the call authentication frameworks
under subparagraph (B).
(5) Extension of implementation deadline.--
(A) Burdens and barriers to implementation.--Not later than
12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and as
appropriate thereafter, the Commission--
(i) shall assess any burdens or barriers to the
implementation required by paragraph (1), including--
(I) for providers of voice service to the extent
the networks of such providers use time-division
multiplexing;
(II) for small providers of voice service and those
in rural areas; and
(III) the inability to purchase or upgrade
equipment to support the call authentication frameworks
under this section, or lack of availability of such
equipment; and
(ii) in connection with an assessment under clause (i),
may, upon a public finding of undue hardship, delay
required compliance with the 18-month time period described
in paragraph (1), for a reasonable period of time, for a
provider or class of providers of voice service, or type of
voice calls, as necessary for that provider or class of
providers or type of calls to participate in the
implementation in order to address the identified burdens
and barriers.
(B) Delay of compliance required for certain non-internet
protocol networks.--Subject to subparagraphs (C) through (F),
for any provider or class of providers of voice service, or
type of voice calls, only to the extent that such a provider or
class of providers of voice service, or type of voice calls,
materially relies on a non-internet protocol network for the
provision of such service or calls, the Commission shall grant
a delay of required compliance under subparagraph (A)(ii) until
a call authentication protocol has been developed for calls
delivered over non-internet protocol networks and is reasonably
available.
(C) Robocall mitigation program.--
(i) Program required.--During the time of a delay of
compliance granted under subparagraph (A)(ii), the
Commission shall require, pursuant to the authority of the
Commission, that any provider subject to such delay shall
implement an appropriate robocall mitigation program to
prevent unlawful robocalls from originating on the network
of the provider.
(ii) Additional requirements.--If the consortium
registered under section 13(d) identifies a provider of
voice service that is subject to a delay of compliance
granted under subparagraph (A)(ii) as repeatedly
originating large-scale unlawful robocall campaigns, the
Commission shall require such provider to take action to
ensure that such provider does not continue to originate
such calls.
(iii) Minimization of burden.--The Commission shall
make reasonable efforts to minimize the burden of any
robocall mitigation required pursuant to clause (ii), which
may include prescribing certain specific robocall
mitigation practices for providers of voice service that
have repeatedly originated large-scale unlawful robocall
campaigns.
(D) Full participation.--The Commission shall take
reasonable measures to address any issues in an assessment
under subparagraph (A)(i) and enable as promptly as reasonable
full participation of all classes of providers of voice service
and types of voice calls to receive the highest level of trust.
Such measures shall include, without limitation, as
appropriate, limiting or terminating a delay of compliance
granted to a provider under subparagraph (B) if the Commission
determines in such assessment that the provider is not making
reasonable efforts to develop the call authentication protocol
described in such subparagraph.
(E) Alternative methodologies.--The Commission shall
identify, in consultation with small providers of voice service
and those in rural areas, alternative effective methodologies
to protect customers from unauthenticated calls during any
delay of compliance granted under subparagraph (A)(ii).
(F) Revision of delay of compliance.--Not less frequently
than annually after the first delay of compliance is granted
under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Commission--
(i) shall consider revising or extending any delay of
compliance granted under subparagraph (A)(ii);
(ii) may revise such delay of compliance; and
(iii) shall issue a public notice with regard to
whether such delay of compliance remains necessary,
including--
(I) why such delay of compliance remains necessary;
and
(II) when the Commission expects to achieve the
goal of full participation as described in subparagraph
(D).
(6) No additional cost to consumers or small business
customers.--The Commission shall prohibit providers of voice
service from adding any additional line item charges to consumer or
small business customer subscribers for the effective call
authentication technology required under paragraph (1).
(7) Accurate identification.--Not later than 12 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue
best practices that providers of voice service may use as part of
the implementation of effective call authentication frameworks
under paragraph (1) to take steps to ensure the calling party is
accurately identified.
(c) Safe Harbor and Other Regulations.--
(1) In general.--Consistent with the regulations prescribed
under subsection (j) of section 227 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 227), as added by section 10, the Commission shall,
not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
promulgate rules--
(A) establishing when a provider of voice service may block
a voice call based, in whole or in part, on information
provided by the call authentication frameworks under subsection
(b), with no additional line item charge;
(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 based, in whole or
in part, on information provided by the call authentication
frameworks under subsection (b);
(C) establishing a process to permit a calling party
adversely affected by the information provided by the call
authentication frameworks under subsection (b) to verify the
authenticity of the calling party's calls; and
(D) ensuring that calls originating from a provider of
voice service in an area where the provider is subject to a
delay of compliance with the time period described in
subsection (b)(1) are not unreasonably blocked because the
calls are not able to be authenticated.
(2) Considerations.--In establishing the safe harbor under
paragraph (1), consistent with the regulations prescribed under
subsection (j) of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 227), as added by section 10, the Commission shall consider
limiting the liability of a provider of voice service based on the
extent to which the provider of voice service--
(A) blocks or identifies calls based, in whole or in part,
on the information provided by the call authentication
frameworks under subsection (b);
(B) implemented procedures based, in whole or in part, on
the information provided by the call authentication frameworks
under subsection (b); and
(C) used reasonable care, including making all reasonable
efforts to avoid blocking emergency public safety calls.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall preclude
the Commission from initiating a rulemaking pursuant to its existing
statutory authority.

a8adfe9292d3fc9c6678f8d6ab77478869207cc0ddba605f9d063b5e4143e790

(a) In General.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the
Chairman of the 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 laws,
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 countries
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 Commission;
(D) whether extending civil enforcement authority 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 common carrier regulated under
title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et
seq.) 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 inhibit 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 Commission;
(5) the Federal Trade Commission; and
(6) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
(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 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the interagency working group shall submit
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate 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 progress, if any, relevant Federal
departments and agencies have made in implementing the
recommendations under paragraph (1).

b5a2947b35d8946293eab0f8e825c8dc49979b3102eb3d69ac269642fa5ce278

(a) In General.--
(1) Examination of fcc policies.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall
commence a proceeding to determine how Commission policies
regarding access to number resources, including number resources
for toll-free and non-toll-free telephone numbers, could be
modified, including by establishing registration and compliance
obligations, and requirements that providers of voice service given
access to number resources take sufficient steps to know the
identity of the customers of such providers, to help reduce access
to numbers by potential perpetrators of violations of section
227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b)).
(2) Regulations.--If the Commission determines under paragraph
(1) that modifying the policies described in that paragraph could
help achieve the goal described in that paragraph, the Commission
shall prescribe regulations to implement those policy
modifications.
(b) Authority.--Any person who knowingly, through an employee,
agent, officer, or otherwise, directly or indirectly, by or through any
means or device whatsoever, is a party to obtaining number resources,
including number resources for toll-free and non-toll-free telephone
numbers, from a common carrier regulated under title II of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), in violation of a
regulation prescribed under subsection (a), shall, notwithstanding
section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
503(b)(5)), be subject to a forfeiture penalty under section 503(b) of
that Act (47 U.S.C. 503(b)). A forfeiture penalty under this subsection
shall be in addition to any other penalty provided for by law.

714ddcfcd8c9ff4553bbd99135874d19c83ec5db52a860584a8414ddb9a94049

(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and consistent with the call authentication
frameworks under section 4, the 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 Commission shall consider--
(1) the Government Accountability Office report on combating
the fraudulent provision of misleading or inaccurate caller
identification information required by section 503(c) of division P
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141);
(2) the best means of ensuring that a subscriber or provider
has the ability to block calls from a caller using an
unauthenticated North American Numbering Plan number;
(3) the impact on the privacy of a 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).

85f89aa93aee4e35d66064619ef148310e9e9788722040b1d9e0225581c6a96c

(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)(ii), by striking ``; and'' 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 of parties that may make such calls;
``(ii) the classes of parties that may be called; and
``(iii) the number of such calls that a calling party
may make to a particular called party.''.
(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 the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, not later than 1 year
after such date of enactment, prescribe such regulations, or amend such
existing regulations, as necessary to ensure that such exemption
contains each requirement described in subparagraph (I) of such
section, as added by subsection (a). To the extent such an exemption
contains such a requirement before such date of enactment, nothing in
this section or the amendments made by this section shall be construed
to require the Commission to prescribe or amend regulations relating to
such requirement.

52e60691ceff518a9d0558fc5cc0b75abea4ff3416b3dcfd6efe541780ae692c

(a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress, and
make publicly available on the website of the Commission, a report on
the status of the efforts of the Commission pursuant to the Second
Report and Order in the matter of Advanced Methods to Target and
Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls (CG Docket No. 17-59; FCC 18-177; adopted
on December 12, 2018).
(b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall describe
the efforts of the Commission, as described in such Second Report and
Order, to ensure--
(1) the establishment of a database of telephone numbers that
have been disconnected, in order to provide a person making calls
subject to section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 227(b)) with comprehensive and timely information to enable
such person to avoid making calls without the prior express consent
of the called party because the number called has been reassigned;
(2) that a person who wishes to use any safe harbor provided
pursuant to such Second Report and Order with respect to making
calls must demonstrate that, before making the call, the person
appropriately checked the most recent update of the database and
the database reported that the number had not been disconnected;
and
(3) that if the person makes the demonstration described in
paragraph (2), the person will be shielded from liability under
section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(b))
should the database return an inaccurate result.

6e465bbf659e84eb5c6004928bad9f235fa83526eb912435af18564634f9e2d4

(a) Information Sharing Regarding Robocall and Spoofing
Violations.--Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
227) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Information Sharing.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall prescribe
regulations to establish a process that streamlines the ways in
which a private entity may voluntarily share with the Commission
information relating to--
``(A) a call made or a text message sent in violation of
subsection (b); or
``(B) a call or text message for which misleading or
inaccurate caller identification information was caused to be
transmitted in violation of subsection (e).
``(2) Text message defined.--In this subsection, the term `text
message' has the meaning given such term in subsection (e)(8).''.
(b) Robocall Blocking Service.--Section 227 of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227), as amended by subsection (a), is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Robocall Blocking Service.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall take a final
agency action to ensure the robocall blocking services provided on
an opt-out or opt-in basis pursuant to the Declaratory Ruling of
the Commission in the matter of Advanced Methods to Target and
Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls (CG Docket No. 17-59; FCC 19-51;
adopted on June 6, 2019)--
``(A) are provided with transparency and effective redress
options for both--
``(i) consumers; and
``(ii) callers; and
``(B) are provided with no additional line item charge to
consumers and no additional charge to callers for resolving
complaints related to erroneously blocked calls; and
``(C) make all reasonable efforts to avoid blocking
emergency public safety calls.
``(2) Text message defined.--In this subsection, the term `text
message' has the meaning given such term in subsection (e)(8).''.
(c) Study on Information Requirements for Certain VoIP Service
Providers.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall conduct a study regarding
whether to require a provider of covered VoIP service to--
(A) provide to the Commission contact information for such
provider and keep such information current; and
(B) retain records relating to each call transmitted over
the covered VoIP service of such provider that are sufficient
to trace such call back to the source of such call.
(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to
Congress a report on the results of the study conducted under
paragraph (1).
(3) Covered voip service defined.--In this subsection, the term
``covered VoIP service'' means a service that--
(A) is an interconnected VoIP service (as defined in
section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153));
or
(B) would be an interconnected VoIP service (as so defined)
except that the service permits users to terminate calls to the
public switched telephone network but does not permit users to
receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone
network.
(d) Transitional Rule Regarding Definition of Text Message.--
Paragraph (2) of subsection (i) of section 227 of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227), as added by subsection (a) of this
section, and paragraph (2) of subsection (j) of such section 227, as
added by subsection (b) of this section, shall apply before the
effective date of the amendment made to subsection (e)(8) of such
section 227 by subparagraph (C) of section 503(a)(2) of division P of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141) as if
such amendment was already in effect.

65de2f88daac4c02b0f94401ab27ae0ae20dc5614627b498313cb8ddd4b885c7

ATTORNEY GENERAL.
(a) In General.--If the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau of the
Commission obtains evidence that suggests a willful, knowing, and
repeated robocall violation with an intent to defraud, cause harm, or
wrongfully obtain anything of value, the Chief of the Enforcement
Bureau shall provide such evidence to the Attorney General.
(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission
shall publish on its website and submit to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that--
(1) states the number of instances during the preceding year in
which the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau provided the evidence
described in subsection (a) to the Attorney General; and
(2) contains a general summary of the types of robocall
violations to which such evidence relates.
(c) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to affect the ability of the Commission or the Chief of the
Enforcement Bureau under other law--
(1) to refer a matter to the Attorney General; or
(2) to pursue or continue pursuit of an enforcement action in a
matter with respect to which the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau
provided the evidence described in subsection (a) to the Attorney
General.
(d) Robocall Violation Defined.--In this section, the term
``robocall violation'' means a violation of subsection (b) or (e) of
section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227).

ec1375015ec774b0c9778384044c2c3349f01f7b9f40f03234f183b50bc5b2e9

(a) Initiation of Proceeding.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall initiate a
proceeding to protect called parties from one-ring scams.
(b) Matters To Be Considered.--As part of the proceeding required
by subsection (a), the Commission shall consider how the Commission
can--
(1) work with Federal and State law enforcement agencies to
address one-ring scams;
(2) work with the governments of foreign countries to address
one-ring scams;
(3) in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, better
educate consumers about how to avoid one-ring scams;
(4) incentivize voice service providers to stop calls made to
perpetrate one-ring scams from being received by called parties,
including consideration of adding identified one-ring scam type
numbers to the Commission's existing list of permissible categories
for carrier-initiated blocking;
(5) work with entities that provide call-blocking services to
address one-ring scams; and
(6) establish obligations on international gateway providers
that are the first point of entry for these calls into the United
States, including potential requirements that such providers verify
with the foreign originator the nature or purpose of calls before
initiating service.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish on its website
and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report on the status of the proceeding
required by subsection (a).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) One-ring scam.--The term ``one-ring scam'' means a scam in
which a caller makes a call and allows the call to ring the called
party for a short duration, in order to prompt the called party to
return the call, thereby subjecting the called party to charges.
(2) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such term
in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
(3) Voice service.--The term ``voice service'' has the meaning
given such term in section 227(e)(8) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)). This paragraph shall apply before the
effective date of the amendment made to such section by
subparagraph (C) of section 503(a)(2) of division P of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141) as if
such amendment was already in effect.

f5be109e8f38f346d67a0eb8dc39a22c6e4c9945c93274c21cae3eeba296f3b8

(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall
make publicly available on the website of the Commission, and submit to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, a report on the status of private-led efforts to trace back the
origin of suspected unlawful robocalls by the registered consortium and
the participation of voice service providers in such efforts.
(b) Contents of Report.--The report required under subsection (a)
shall include, at minimum, the following:
(1) A description of private-led efforts to trace back the
origin of suspected unlawful robocalls by the registered consortium
and the actions taken by the registered consortium to coordinate
with the Commission.
(2) A list of voice service providers identified by the
registered consortium that participated in private-led efforts to
trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls through the
registered consortium.
(3) A list of each voice service provider that received a
request from the registered consortium to participate in private-
led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful
robocalls and refused to participate, as identified by the
registered consortium.
(4) The reason, if any, each voice service provider identified
by the registered consortium provided for not participating in
private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful
robocalls.
(5) A description of how the Commission may use the information
provided to the Commission by voice service providers or the
registered consortium that have participated in private-led efforts
to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls in the
enforcement efforts by the Commission.
(c) Additional Information.--Not later than 210 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission
shall issue a notice to the public seeking additional information from
voice service providers and the registered consortium of private-led
efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls
necessary for the report by the Commission required under subsection
(a).
(d) Registration of Consortium of Private-Led Efforts To Trace Back
the Origin of Suspected Unlawful Robocalls.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue rules to
establish a registration process for the registration of a single
consortium that conducts private-led efforts to trace back the
origin of suspected unlawful robocalls. The consortium shall meet
the following requirements:
(A) Be a neutral third party competent to manage the
private-led effort to trace back the origin of suspected
unlawful robocalls in the judgement of the Commission.
(B) Maintain a set of written best practices about the
management of such efforts and regarding providers of voice
services' participation in private-led efforts to trace back
the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls.
(C) Consistent with section 222(d)(2) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(d)(2)), any private-led efforts to
trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls conducted
by the third party focus on ``fraudulent, abusive, or
unlawful'' traffic.
(D) File a notice with the Commission that the consortium
intends to conduct private-led efforts to trace back in advance
of such registration.
(2) Annual notice by the commission seeking registrations.--Not
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the Commission shall issue a notice to the
public seeking the registration described in paragraph (1).
(e) List of Voice Service Providers.--The Commission may publish a
list of voice service providers and take appropriate enforcement action
based on information obtained from the consortium about voice service
providers that refuse to participate in private-led efforts to trace
back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls, and other information
the Commission may collect about voice service providers that are found
to originate or transmit substantial amounts of unlawful robocalls.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Private-led effort to trace back.--The term ``private-led
effort to trace back'' means an effort made by the registered
consortium of voice service providers to establish a methodology
for determining the origin of a suspected unlawful robocall.
(2) Registered consortium.--The term ``registered consortium''
means the consortium registered under subsection (d).
(3) Suspected unlawful robocall.--The term ``suspected unlawful
robocall'' means a call that the Commission or a voice service
provider reasonably believes was made in violation of subsection
(b) or (e) of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 227).
(4) Voice service.--The term ``voice service''--
(A) 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
(B) includes--
(i) transmissions from a telephone facsimile machine,
computer, or other device to a telephone facsimile machine;
and
(ii) without limitation, any service that enables real-
time, two-way voice communications, including any service
that requires internet protocol-compatible customer
premises equipment (commonly known as ``CPE'') and permits
out-bound calling, whether or not the service is one-way or
two-way voice over internet protocol.

614430aaa57b388a98e9cbbad0a8e8292d2fdf62c73ad8f6356ea38d60b143f0

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall establish an advisory
committee to be known as the ``Hospital Robocall Protection Group''.
(b) Membership.--The Group shall be composed only of the following
members:
(1) An equal number of representatives from each of the
following:
(A) Voice service providers that serve hospitals.
(B) Companies that focus on mitigating unlawful robocalls.
(C) Consumer advocacy organizations.
(D) Providers of one-way voice over internet protocol
services described in subsection (e)(3)(B)(ii).
(E) Hospitals.
(F) State government officials focused on combating
unlawful robocalls.
(2) One representative of the Commission.
(3) One representative of the Federal Trade Commission.
(c) Issuance of Best Practices.--Not later than 180 days after the
date on which the Group is established under subsection (a), the Group
shall issue best practices regarding the following:
(1) How voice service providers can better combat unlawful
robocalls made to hospitals.
(2) How hospitals can better protect themselves from such
calls, including by using unlawful robocall mitigation techniques.
(3) How the Federal Government and State governments can help
combat such calls.
(d) Proceeding by FCC.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the best practices are issued by the Group under subsection (c),
the Commission shall conclude a proceeding to assess the extent to
which the voluntary adoption of such best practices can be facilitated
to protect hospitals and other institutions.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Group.--The term ``Group'' means the Hospital Robocall
Protection Group established under subsection (a).
(2) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such term
in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
(3) Voice service.--The term ``voice service''--
(A) 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
(B) includes--
(i) transmissions from a telephone facsimile machine,
computer, or other device to a telephone facsimile machine;
and
(ii) without limitation, any service that enables real-
time, two-way voice communications, including any service
that requires internet protocol-compatible customer
premises equipment (commonly known as ``CPE'') and permits
out-bound calling, whether or not the service is one-way or
two-way voice over internet protocol.

62519417af13d3c73f628e40d49d1f9372bd13c65063e62e2d39241207e1f9d2

If any provision of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid,
the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the
application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall
not be affected thereby.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.

50edd1cb0af677266a15d22081d9106e007d974e4fac98e0dea7be1abaa16063

Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act — S. 151

Other Sections

Want the full experience?