Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006
TELEPHONE RECORDS AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 2006 -- (House of Representatives - April 25, 2006)
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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise with great pleasure and enthusiasm as one of the supporters of this legislation, Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, H.R. 4709; and I am pleased to acknowledge Mr. LAMAR SMITH and JOHN CONYERS as the original sponsors of this legislation.
I thank the chairman for yielding me this time, and I add my applause to legislation that makes several important and noteworthy changes to current law.
First and foremost, it establishes a new criminal offense against anyone who knowingly and intentionally obtains or attempts to obtain the confidential phone records of a third party through any one of the bill's several enumerated schemes or devices to defraud. Penalties for violating this prohibition include a fine or a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years, or both.
Second, the bill establishes a new set of criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly and intentionally sells or purchases the confidential phone records of a third party without proper authorization or knowing that such records were obtained through fraud. Violators of either of these two provisions are subjected to a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 5 years.
Finally, in an effort to offer increased protection to the likely victims of such activities, this legislation includes a series of enhanced criminal penalties against any individual who engages in any one of the aforementioned crimes knowing that such information was sought in furtherance of or with the intent to commit any one of the bill's dozen or so enumerated offenses. Individuals specifically protected under this provision include potential victims of domestic-violence-related offenses, jurors, criminal witnesses, confidential informants, and law enforcement officers.
Recent investigations undertaken by State and Federal law enforcement officials have demonstrated the ease with which an individual can obtain the confidential calling records of a third party. By simply contacting one of the many on-line data brokers that currently exist, the private records of anyone sitting in this room could be filtered into the public domain within a matter of minutes.
And if put into the wrong hands, such information could be used to commit countless crimes of violence, including acts of domestic violence, retaliatory acts against law enforcement officers, or acts aimed at undermining our current criminal justice system.
Madam Speaker, I think it is important to note that as we fight the crime of identity theft, this new and innovative legislation puts a dagger in some aspects of that. For example, the records of high-ranking officials dealing with government business could be secured, whether it is local, State or Federal, and put various actions of the government in jeopardy.
And, yes, a law enforcement officer that may be undercover, those records can be secured and immediately put that law enforcement officer in great jeopardy of his or her life.
And, finally, for those of us who are parents, we understand what it means to be able to communicate with a young person through a cell phone. Just imagine a stalker or a child predator securing those records of your teenage son or daughter. What a horrific thought to think.
And so it is important that this legislation be passed for the protection of Americans all over this country and as well for the integrity of our technology system.
The bill before us seeks to stop these potential abuses from becoming a reality, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile measure.
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I am pleased to acknowledge LAMAR SMITH and JOHN CONYERS as the original sponsors of this bill. This legislation makes several important and noteworthy changes to current law.
First and foremost, it establishes a new criminal offense against anyone who knowingly and intentionally obtains, or attempts to obtain, the confidential phone records of a third party through any one of the bill's several enumerated schemes or devices to defraud. Penalties for violating this prohibition include a fine or a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years, or both.
Second, the bill establishes a new set of criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly and intentionally sells or purchases the confidential phone records of a third party, without proper authorization or knowing that such records were obtained through fraud. Violators of either of these two provisions are subjected to a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 5 years.
Finally, in an effort to offer increased protection to the likely victims of such activities, the legislation includes a series of enhanced criminal penalties against any individual who engages in any one of the aforementioned crimes knowing that such information was sought in furtherance of, or with the intent to commit any one of the bill's dozen or so enumerated offenses. Individuals specifically protected under this provision include potential victims of domestic-violence related offenses, jurors, criminal witnesses, confidential informants and law enforcement officers.
Recent investigations that have been undertaken by State and Federal law enforcement officials have demonstrated the ease with which an individual can obtain the confidential calling records of a third party. By simply contacting one of the many online data brokers that currently exist, the private records of anyone sitting in this room could be filtered into the public domain within a matter of minutes.
And, if put into the wrong hands, such information could be used to commit countless crimes of violence, including acts of domestic violence, retaliatory attacks against law enforcement officers, or acts aimed at undermining our current criminal justice system.
The bill before us seeks to stop these potential abuses from becoming a reality. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile measure.
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Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I include the following letters of support for this legislation:
CONSUMERS UNION,
Washington, DC., February 8, 2006.
Hon. Charles Schumer,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Arlen Specter,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Bill Nelson
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
DEAR SENATORS SCHUMER, SPECTER AND NELSON: Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, supports the Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006, S. 2178, and applauds your leadership on this critical consumer issue.
The Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act would go far in protecting consumers' private telephone records. Consumers have a reasonable expectation that their calling records will not be released to anyone other than themselves. Congress must meet that expectation by preventing stalkers, identity thieves, and shady data-brokers from accessing consumers' personal telephone calling records. Subjecting to criminal penalties the selling of those records and the practice of pretexting to obtain them will serve as a strong deterrence.
Importantly, instead of simply reaffirming Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce penalties against unfair and deceptive trade practices, the Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act ensures that other federal entities are empowered to protect consumers' calling records. Additionally, the bill covers all wireline, wireless and VoIP services, protecting the rights of consumers to keep their phoning records private regardless of which platform they use.
We look forward to working with you toward adoption of S. 2178 as well as other complementary measures required to protect consumers phone records. These include stronger enforcement powers and penalties for FTC and the Federal Communications Commission; mandatory consumer notice when calling records have been requested or provided to any party; requirements that consumers affirmatively opt-in before any of their records are shared, even with affiliates of the phone company; and finally, provisions strengthening carrier internal processes for safeguarding consumer information under Section 222 of the 1934 Communications Act, with tough penalties for noncompliance.
We applaud your swift action and thank you for your leadership to protect consumers. We look forward to working with you toward effective, enforceable consumer phone record privacy legislation.
We look forward to working with you toward enactment of this important legislation.
Respectfully,
Jeannine Kenney,
Senior Policy Analyst.
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Verizon Wireless Applauds Cell Phone Privacy Bill
BEDMINSTER, NJ.--Senators Charles Schumer of New York, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Bill Nelson of Florida proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate today to make it a crime for someone to obtain cell phone customer calling or billing information under false pretenses or for a wireless company employee to sell such customer information. Verizon Wireless issued the following statement from Steve Zipperstein, vice president of legal & external affairs, in response to the filing:
``As the first wireless company in the U.S. to take legal action to protect cell phone customers' private account information from so-called online data brokers, Verizon Wireless applauds the efforts of Senators Schumer, Specter and Nelson to protect our customers' privacy from the crooks and predators who we've been hauling into civil court. The criminal penalties in this bill will provide another powerful weapon in the legal arsenal that the private sector and the government can use to protect consumers. We believe this legislation will give federal prosecutors and others in law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on this despicable practice and help defend the privacy of U.S. cell phone customers.''
Verizon Wireless' record of aggressively protecting customer privacy has put the company at the forefront of the U.S. wireless industry.
On September 15, 2005, Verizon Wireless secured a permanent injunction against Source Resources Inc, a Tennessee-based company, to halt its illegal practice of obtaining and selling confidential customer telephone records. Verizon Wireless brought the lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind, after one of its customers reported that his confidential wireless phone records had been secured without his permission by Source Resources. http://news.vzw.com/news/2005/09/pr2005-09-15.html
On November 9, 2005, Verizon Wireless obtained an immediate injunction against Global Information Group (GIG) of Temple Terrace, FL after the company made ``thousands of attempts'' to gather confidential information without proper authorization and used various fraudulent ``schemes'' to do so, including impersonating Verizon Wireless employees and posing as Verizon Wireless customers. The suit is pending. http://news.vzw.com/news/2005/11/pr2005-11-09a.html
In other actions to protect customer privacy: Verizon Wireless won permanent injunctions to stop two telemarketing firms--Intelligent Alternatives of San Diego, CA, and Resort Marketing Trends of Coral Springs, FL,--from making calls to Verizon Wireless customers by using auto-dialers and recorded messages. Federal consumer protection law prohibits use of auto-dialers or pre-recorded messages in calls to cell phones--http://news.vzw.com/news/2005/12/pr2005-12-09.html
Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Passport Holidays of Ormond Beach, FL for violating federal and state laws after it sent more than 98,000 unsolicited short text messages to Verizon Wireless customers informing them they supposedly had won a cruise to the Bahamas and asking them to call to claim their prize--http://news.vzw.com/news/2005/11/pr2005-11-23.html
In August 2004, Verizon Wireless obtained an injunction against Rhode Island resident Jacob Brown, a known spammer who had been sending numerous text message solicitations to Verizon Wireless customers--http://news.vzw.com/news/2004/08/pr2004-08-30.html
In June 2004, Verizon Wireless broke with the wireless industry by becoming the first to announce it would protect customer privacy by refusing to participate in a national wireless phone directory--http://news.vzw.com/news/2004/06/pr2004-06-21.html
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Sprint Nextel Sues To Shut Down Online Services That Illegally Obtain and Sell Confidential Telephone Records
Reston, VA.--(Business Wire)--Jan. 27, 2006--Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the parent company of four online data brokers that use illegal and deceptive practices to obtain and sell wireless customer call detail records. Sprint Nextel states within the Complaint that 1st Source Information Specialists Inc., parent company of www.locatecell.com, www.celltolls.com, www.datafind.org and www.peoplesearchamerica.com, employs fraudulent tactics, such as posing as customers seeking information about their own accounts, to access cell phone logs and phone numbers.
In the suit filed today in Florida, Sprint Nextel states that the schemes conducted by these fraudulent online services invade the privacy of Sprint Nextel's customers. Sprint Nextel has requested both temporary and permanent injunctions against 1st Source Information Specialists Inc.
``Protection of confidential customer information is our number one priority and we are taking aggressive action to ensure that any threat to privacy is eliminated immediately,'' said Kent Nakamura, vice president for telecom management and chief privacy officer for Sprint Nextel. ``1st Source Information Specialists continues to display egregious disregard for privacy, and previous industry-driven actions do not appear to have deterred their illegal activities. We can assure our customers that we will make every effort to put these services out of business.''
To further demonstrate its commitment to protecting consumer privacy, Sprint Nextel is supporting federal legislation that seeks to increase criminal and/or civil penalties against third party companies that fraudulently seek to obtain, sell or distribute customer records. In particular, Sprint Nextel hails legislation crafted by senators Charles Schumer of New York, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Bill Nelson of Florida for its provisions that make it illegal to obtain telephone customer records, and that stiffen prison sentences and fines for those companies fraudulently selling information. Sprint Nextel looks forward to working with these senators and other members of Congress to pass the legislation that best protects consumers and ends this fraudulent practice.
In addition to launching a legal assault on these illegal activities, Sprint Nextel's corporate security and customer care teams employ safeguards to protect confidential customer information from unauthorized access. Sprint Nextel customer service agents have been made aware of the fraudulent tactics used by online data brokers, and they are trained to follow detailed authentication procedures when responding to customer inquiries. Sprint Nextel's security practices were validated in 2005 when the company was awarded the ``Best Practice in Security for Governance'' by the Aberdeen Group.
Sprint Nextel strongly encourages its customers to take precautions to protect themselves. In particular, Sprint Nextel recommends that customers regularly change passwords used to access account information on the Sprint.com web site or when calling customer care, and select unique passwords to access voicemail messages on Sprint phones. For additional customer privacy tips, please go to www.sprint.com/privacy.
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COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES,
Monterey Park, CA, March 29, 2006.
Hon. Charles Schumer,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
United States Senate Bill 2178--Support Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006 as Introduced on January 18, 2006
DEAR SENATOR SCHUMER: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is proud to support your United States Senate Bill 2178 (S. 2178). This Bill would prohibit the obtaining, by fraud or other unauthorized means, of confidential phone record information.
Recently, there has been a lot of media focus regarding the sale of another's cell phone records over the internet. Many companies, charging as little as $20, offer to research and provide a month's worth of cell phone call information, no questions asked.
With the above in mind, S. 2178 seeks to correct this serious situation by prohibiting another from obtaining this information under false pretense or selling such information by any person, including an employee of the provider.
As Sheriff of Los Angeles County, I support S. 2178. Should you need further assistance regarding this issue please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (323) 526-5000, or my Legislative Advocate, Sergeant Wayne Bilowit, at (323) 240-5696.
Sincerely,
LeRoy D. Baca,
Sheriff
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T-Mobile Sues Cell Record Brokers for Criminal Profiteering
BELLEVUE, WA., January 23, 2006--In an effort to restrain the unlawful activities of entities that attempt to fraudulently obtain confidential customer information, T-Mobile USA, Inc. is bringing legal action against online data brokers the company believes are involved in illegitimately obtaining and selling call records. Acting under Washington State criminal profiteering laws, T-Mobile today filed suit in King County, Wash., Superior Court seeking an injunction to stop Locatecell.com, as well as related companies and individuals, from engaging in such illegal behavior. T-Mobile also is prepared to take similar legal action against other believed violators.
``To further safeguard the privacy of our customers, T-Mobile is taking action to prosecute these online data brokers to the fullest extent permitted by the law,'' said Dave Miller, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, T-Mobile USA. ``For the protection of all wireless customers, their illegal actions must be stopped.''
T-Mobile also endorses the need for federal legislation making it a crime for anyone to obtain, sell or distribute, through fraudulent means, the private calling records of mobile phone customers.
``T-Mobile supports adoption of federal legislation making it clear that fraudulent activities by third parties to obtain, sell, or distribute call records is a crime,'' said Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile's Vice President of Government Affairs. ``Legislation should address the deplorable and deceptive actions of these third-party brokers who illegitimately obtain and sell call records without the knowledge or consent of wireless customers. We applaud the FCC's recent citations against brokers that have defied its subpoenas.''
Legislation introduced by Sens. Schumer, Specter and Nelson and co-sponsored by Sens. Burns and Reid, takes particular aim at these perpetrators, defined as anyone who sells or obtains confidential customer information through deception or unauthorized access to a telephone company's data. T-Mobile commends this bipartisan group of Senators for targeting privacy predators such as online brokers in an effort to bolster protections for consumers. T-Mobile looks forward to working with members of Congress to resolve this important privacy concern.
As a result of data uncovered during a continuing, thorough internal investigation, T-Mobile had issued numerous cease and desist letters against companies that were believed to have illegally obtained and sold phone-calling records of some of its customers.
T-Mobile reiterates that it is important for customers to continue to take steps to protect their accounts by utilizing passwords. T-Mobile urges all users of mobile phone services to take the following password protection steps:
Create separate passwords for voicemail, online access, and for use when calling customer care about your billing account.
Set complex passwords using both numbers and letters where appropriate.
Avoid common passwords such as birth dates, family or pet names and street addresses.
Change your passwords at least every 60 days.
Memorize your passwords.
Don't share passwords with anyone.
``T-Mobile takes customer privacy seriously. Customer protection is a primary concern. We have invested millions of dollars to help protect customer information, and we continue to further reinforce our systems. Our customer phone records are not for sale,'' said Sugrue. ``We encourage Congress and the FCC to act swiftly to bring the illegal activity of online data brokers to an end.''
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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask the support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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