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U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation

For Immediate Release
June 21st, 2007

SENATOR STEVENS COSPONSORS TRUTH IN CALLER ID ACT
Measure Would Address Caller ID Manipulation or Spoofing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation announced that he would cosponsor S. 704, the Truth in Caller ID Act, sponsored by Senator Ben Nelson (D-Fla.). Senator Stevens made the announcement during a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today on the issue.

The bill would make it a crime to manipulate caller identification (ID) information and provide the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the enforcement tools it needs to stop this practice. The legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). Similar legislation in the House, H.R. 251, was introduced by Representatives Elliot Engel (D – N.Y.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) and passed unanimously.

“Caller ID provides all of us with important information,” Senator Stevens said. “However, when this technology is used to deceive people it means the loss of privacy and increases the possibility of identity theft, which is a major problem in Alaska. This bill will help protect consumers and provide law enforcement with the necessary tools it needs to stop these deceptive practices.”

Caller ID services provide consumers with information about who is calling them before they answer the phone by displaying the caller’s telephone number or name. Spoofing refers to the process by which the caller ID information transmitted with a telephone call is manipulated to mislead the call recipient about the identity of the caller.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has been actively investigating the issue of caller ID spoofing since the summer of 2005 when information regarding junk fax spoofing came to its attention. As of February, the Enforcement Bureau had initiated investigations into at least 12 companies engaged in the marketing and selling of spoofing services to customers.

The Truth in Caller ID Act (S.704) would specifically:

prohibit any person from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information;

require the FCC to prescribe regulations and determine appropriate exemptions, including exemptions for personal safety, law enforcement or court authorized manipulation;

require a report to Congress on whether further legislation is needed to prohibit the provision of inaccurate caller I.D. information in technologies that are replacements or successors to voice telecommunications service or I.P.-enabled voice service within six months;

provide for penalties of $10,000 for each violation, or three times that amount for each day of a continuing violation, and $1,000,000 cap for any single act or failure to act;

permit state Attorneys General to enforce the FCC’s rules, after notice and opportunity to intervene is provided the FCC.

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For Immediate Release June 21st, 2007

SENATOR STEVENS COSPONSORS TRUTH IN CALLER ID ACT Measure Would Address Caller ID Manipulation or Spoofing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation announced that he would cosponsor S. 704, the Truth in Caller ID Act, sponsored by Senator Ben Nelson (D-Fla.). Senator Stevens made the announcement during a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today on the issue. The bill would make it a crime to manipulate caller identification (ID) information and provide the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the enforcement tools it needs to stop this practice. The legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). Similar legislation in the House, H.R. 251, was introduced by Representatives Elliot Engel (D – N.Y.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) and passed unanimously. “Caller ID provides all of us with important information,” Senator Stevens said. “However, when this technology is used to deceive people it means the loss of privacy and increases the possibility of identity theft, which is a major problem in Alaska. This bill will help protect consumers and provide law enforcement with the necessary tools it needs to stop these deceptive practices.” Caller ID services provide consumers with information about who is calling them before they answer the phone by displaying the caller’s telephone number or name. Spoofing refers to the process by which the caller ID information transmitted with a telephone call is manipulated to mislead the call recipient about the identity of the caller. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has been actively investigating the issue of caller ID spoofing since the summer of 2005 when information regarding junk fax spoofing came to its attention. As of February, the Enforcement Bureau had initiated investigations into at least 12 companies engaged in the marketing and selling of spoofing services to customers. The Truth in Caller ID Act (S.704) would specifically: prohibit any person from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information; require the FCC to prescribe regulations and determine appropriate exemptions, including exemptions for personal safety, law enforcement or court authorized manipulation; require a report to Congress on whether further legislation is needed to prohibit the provision of inaccurate caller I.D. information in technologies that are replacements or successors to voice telecommunications service or I.P.-enabled voice service within six months; provide for penalties of $10,000 for each violation, or three times that amount for each day of a continuing violation, and $1,000,000 cap for any single act or failure to act; permit state Attorneys General to enforce the FCC’s rules, after notice and opportunity to intervene is provided the FCC.