Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

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By Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. BURNS, Mr. WARNER, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. VITTER, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. TALENT, Mr. MARTINEZ, and Mr. THUNE):

S. 2389. A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the unlawful acquisition and use of confidential customer proprietary network information, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce and present to my colleagues the Protecting Consumers Phone Records Act. I am pleased to be the lead sponsor of this legislation and I want to thank my colleagues, including Senators STEVENS and INOUYE, for working with me on this important issue.

In recent months, a number of Web sites have been selling consumers' confidential phone records to anyone willing to pay a small fee. According to experts, these records are usually obtained by unscrupulous individuals who fraudulently pose as customers requesting their own records. This common fraud is no less harmful, and in some cases even more disconcerting, than when a third-party uses false pretenses to obtain an innocent person's confidential financial records. In some cases, even physical harm can result from one's private phone records becoming public. We cannot allow these reprehensible practices to continue.

The goal of the Protecting Consumers Phone Records Act is to prevent the unauthorized and intrusive third party access of American consumers' phone records. Specifically, our legislation makes it illegal to solicit, acquire or sell a person's confidential phone records without that person's consent. It also specifically prohibits the practice commonly referred to as ``pretexting,'' where individuals obtain records by fraudulently misrepresenting that they have the authorization to obtain the records.

Fully combating this problem requires a team effort. That is why our legislation requires telephone companies to comply with minimum security requirements, similar to those required of financial institutions. Companies must do their part to protect their customers' records.

In order to deter this bad behavior, our legislation increases the penalties for violators. Should someone fraudulently solicit, obtain or sell an individual's phone records, they will be subject to an $11,000 penalty for each record, up to $11 million. Phone companies are subject to a $30,000 penalty, up to $3 million if they do not sufficiently protect their customers' phone records.

Finally, the Protecting Consumers Phone Records Act recognizes the importance of enforcement. The legislation provides the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General with strengthened enforcement authority. Additionally, telephone companies are given the authority to take legal action against those entities or individuals who have illegally acquired confidential phone records.

This legislation will send a clear message to the unscrupulous individuals profiting from the invasion of an innocent individual's privacy, that this fraudulent and deceptive behavior will not be tolerated. We are prepared to use all of the appropriate tools to eliminate this harmful practice.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be placed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

S. 2389

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