The Sisyphus Comments

Congress Passes Phone Pretext Prohibition

The Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4709) that was recently enacted amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the obtaining of confidential phone records information from a telecommunications carrier or IP-enabled voice service provider by: making false or fraudulent statements to an employee of a covered entity or to a customer of a covered entity; providing false or fraudulent documents to a covered entity; or accessing customer accounts of a covered entity through the Internet without prior authorization. A violation of this new legislation is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment of up to 20 years.

The act also prohibits the unauthorized sale or transfer of confidential phone records information by any person, including any employee of a covered entity or any data broker, or the purchase of such information with knowledge that it was fraudulently obtained or obtained without authorization. The penalty for a violation may include a fine and/or imprisonment of up to five years.

In addition, the Act doubles the fines and imposes an additional five-year prison term for violations occurring in a 12-month period involving more than $100,000 or more than 50 customers of a covered entity. The measure imposes an additional five-year prison term for violations involving the use of confidential phone records information to commit crimes of violence, crimes of domestic violence, and crimes against law enforcement officials and the administration of justice.