NY State Senate Bill 2023-S5266

Senate Bill S5266

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Provides that a business entity may not alter caller identification information with the intent to defraud or harass a third party or the recipient of the call

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to consumer protection
Mar 01, 2023	referred to consumer protection

2023-S5266 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2581
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §399-ppp, Gen Bus L; amd §8303, CPLR
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: A52
2013-2014: A496
2015-2016: A7158, A4615
2017-2018: A1950
2019-2020: A7532
2021-2022: A3595
2025-2026: A971

2023-S5266 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that a business entity may not provide false caller identification information with the intent to defraud or harass any party; provides definition of business entity.

2023-S5266 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5266

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law and the civil practice law and
rules, in relation to prohibiting business entities from transmitting
false caller identification information with the intent to defraud or
harass any person

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation would ban business entities from "spoofing." Spoofing
is the transmission of false caller identification information with the
intent to defraud or harass any person.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the general business law by adding a new section
399-ppp. Subdivision 1 of section 399-ppp provides that it shall be
unlawful for any business entity, in connection with any telecommuni-
cations service or VoIP service, to cause any caller identification

service to transmit false caller identification information when making
a call to any person within the state with the intent to defraud or
harass. Subdivision 2 of section 399-ppp provides definitions of "busi-
ness identity," "caller identification information," "caller identifica-
tion service," and "VoIP service."  Subdivision 3 of section 399-ppp
provides that whenever there is a violation of this section, the attor-
ney general may make an application to a court or justice having juris-
diction to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant, to
immediately enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations. No
proof is required that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged
by such violation. The court may also make allowances to the attorney
general as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section 8303
of the civil practice law and rules. In addition to any such allowances,
the court may direct restitution to any victim upon a showing of damages
by a preponderance of the evidence. A court may also impose a civil
penalty of up to $2,000 per call, with an aggregate amount of up to
$100,000, for all calls placed in violation of this section within any
continuous seventy-two hour period. Subdivision 4 of section 399- ppp
provides that in addition to the right of action granted to the attorney
general under this section, any person whose caller identification
information was used in connection with a violation of this section or
who has received a telephone call in violation of this section may bring
an action in his or her own name to enjoin such unlawful act. In addi-
tion, any such person may bring an action to recover the greater of: (a)
his or her actual damages; or (b) an amount of up to $500 per call, up
to an aggregate amount of no more than $25,000, for all calls placed in
violation of this section within any continuous severity-two hour peri-
od; or both such actions. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees
to a prevailing plaintiff. Subdivision 5 of Section 399-ppp provides
that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of a
law enforcement unit acting within the scope of his or her assigned
duties or to a court order that specifically authorizes the use of call-
er identification manipulation.

Section two amends paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 8303 of the
civil practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 530 of the laws of
2002, by adding an action brought by the attorney general under section
399-ppp to the list of proceedings subject to allowances that may be
paid to the attorney general. The sum of such allowance shall not exceed
$2,000 against each defendant.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Spoofing occurs when a person intentionally alters caller identification
information to mask the true identity of the caller.  The minimum effect
is that the end user is deceived - the person making the call is not the
Person identified on the screen-and the person identified on the screen
is "spoofed." This means that the person being spoofed has had caller
identification information - his identity, in essence - intentionally
misappropriated by the caller to achieve an end. In the case of a tele-
marketing firm doing the spoofing, the intent may be to get the end user
to pick up the phone, because the call seems to be a personal call rath-
er than a call from a telemarketer.

No matter what the facts are, the essence of the conduct is that a
person's caller identification information is stolen and then used so
that end users are deceived or harassed. The person who was spoofed may
suffer the following damages: a significant invasion of his or her
privacy; damage to his or her reputation, depending on the content of
the message attached to his caller identification information; the
publishing of a previously unpublished phone number; being associated
with a telephone effort that is viewed as one that harasses people; and
becoming the recipient of angry phone calls at any hour of the day from
people who have received. Calls that seemingly were placed by-the person
being spoofed, but were actually placed by someone else.

This legislation seeks to end this indefensible practice by making
spoofing a violation of the general business law, and authorizing the
attorney general and private parties to seek both injunctive and mone-
tary relief.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Passed Assembly in multiple previous years.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
passed.

2023-S5266 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5266
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 1, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law and the civil practice law  and
   rules,  in relation to prohibiting business entities from transmitting
   false caller identification information with the intent to defraud  or
   harass any person
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 399-ppp to read as follows:
   § 399-PPP. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF DECEPTIVE CALLER IDENTIFICATION
 INFORMATION. 1. IT  SHALL  BE  UNLAWFUL  FOR  ANY  BUSINESS  ENTITY,  IN
 CONNECTION WITH ANY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE OR VOIP SERVICE, TO CAUSE
 ANY  CALLER  IDENTIFICATION SERVICE TO TRANSMIT FALSE CALLER IDENTIFICA-
 TION INFORMATION, WITH THE INTENT TO DEFRAUD OR HARASS,  WHEN  MAKING  A
 CALL TO ANY PERSON WITHIN THE STATE.
   2. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A)  "BUSINESS  ENTITY" MEANS A CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION, PARTNERSHIP,
 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP OR OTHER  LEGAL
 ENTITY.
   (B)  "CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION" MEANS INFORMATION PROVIDED TO
 AN END USER BY A CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICE REGARDING  THE  TELEPHONE
 NUMBER  OF,  OR  OTHER  INFORMATION REGARDING THE ORIGINATION OF, A CALL
 MADE USING A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE OR VOIP SERVICE.
   (C) "CALLER  IDENTIFICATION  SERVICE"  MEANS  ANY  SERVICE  OR  DEVICE
 DESIGNED TO PROVIDE THE USER OF THE SERVICE OR DEVICE WITH THE TELEPHONE
 NUMBER  OF,  OR  OTHER  INFORMATION REGARDING THE ORIGINATION OF, A CALL
 MADE USING A TELECOMMUNICATIONS  SERVICE  OR  VOIP  SERVICE.  SUCH  TERM
 INCLUDES AUTOMATIC NUMBER IDENTIFICATION SERVICES.
   (D) "VOIP SERVICE" MEANS A SERVICE THAT:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07080-01-3
 S. 5266                             2

 
   (I)  PROVIDES  REAL-TIME  VOICE COMMUNICATIONS TRANSMITTED THROUGH END
 USER EQUIPMENT USING TCP/IP PROTOCOL, OR A SUCCESSOR PROTOCOL, FOR A FEE
 OR WITHOUT A FEE; AND
   (II)  IS  OFFERED  TO  THE  PUBLIC,  OR SUCH CLASSES OF USERS AS TO BE
 EFFECTIVELY AVAILABLE TO  THE  PUBLIC  (WHETHER  PART  OF  A  BUNDLE  OF
 SERVICES OR SEPARATELY); AND
   (III) HAS THE CAPABILITY TO ORIGINATE TRAFFIC TO, OR TERMINATE TRAFFIC
 FROM, THE PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK.
   3. WHENEVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, AN APPLICATION
 MAY  BE  MADE  BY  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE
 STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION TO ISSUE  AN
 INJUNCTION,  AND UPON NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT, TO IMMEDIATELY ENJOIN AND
 RESTRAIN THE CONTINUANCE OF SUCH VIOLATIONS; AND IF IT SHALL  APPEAR  TO
 THE  SATISFACTION  OF  THE  COURT  OR JUSTICE, BY A PREPONDERANCE OF THE
 EVIDENCE, THAT THE DEFENDANT HAS, IN  FACT,  VIOLATED  THIS  SECTION  AN
 INJUNCTION  MAY  BE  ISSUED  BY  SUCH  COURT  OR  JUSTICE  ENJOINING AND
 RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER VIOLATION,  WITHOUT  REQUIRING  PROOF  THAT  ANY
 PERSON HAS, IN FACT, BEEN INJURED OR DAMAGED THEREBY. THE COURT MAY MAKE
 ALLOWANCES  TO  THE  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  AS  PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH SIX OF
 SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION EIGHTY-THREE HUNDRED THREE OF THE CIVIL PRAC-
 TICE LAW AND RULES. IN ADDITION TO ANY SUCH ALLOWANCES,  THE  COURT  MAY
 DIRECT  RESTITUTION TO ANY VICTIM UPON A SHOWING OF DAMAGES BY A PREPON-
 DERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE.  IN ADDITION TO ANY SUCH RESTITUTION,  WHENEVER
 THE COURT SHALL DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION HAS OCCURRED,
 THE  COURT  MAY  IMPOSE  A  CIVIL  PENALTY OF NOT MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND
 DOLLARS PER CALL, UP TO A TOTAL AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF NOT  MORE  THAN  ONE
 HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS,  FOR  ALL  CALLS PLACED IN VIOLATION OF THIS
 SECTION WITHIN A CONTINUOUS SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PERIOD. IN CONNECTION  WITH
 ANY  SUCH  PROPOSED  APPLICATION,  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS AUTHORIZED TO
 TAKE PROOF AND MAKE A DETERMINATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTS AND  TO  ISSUE
 SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
   4.  IN ADDITION TO THE RIGHT OF ACTION GRANTED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, ANY PERSON WHOSE CALLER IDENTIFICATION  INFOR-
 MATION  WAS  USED  IN CONNECTION WITH A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION OR WHO
 HAS RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY BRING  AN
 ACTION  IN  HIS OR HER OWN NAME TO ENJOIN SUCH UNLAWFUL ACT OR PRACTICE,
 AN ACTION TO RECOVER THE GREATER OF (A) HIS OR HER  ACTUAL  DAMAGES,  OR
 (B)  AN  AMOUNT EQUAL TO NOT MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER CALL, UP
 TO A TOTAL AGGREGATE  AMOUNT  OF  NOT  MORE  THAN  TWENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND
 DOLLARS  FOR  ALL  CALLS  PLACED  IN  VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION WITHIN A
 CONTINUOUS SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PERIOD; OR BOTH SUCH ACTIONS.  THE COURT MAY
 AWARD REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S FEES TO A PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.
   5. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY MEMBER  OF  A
 LAW  ENFORCEMENT  UNIT  ACTING  WITHIN  THE SCOPE OF HIS OR HER ASSIGNED
 DUTIES OR TO A COURT ORDER THAT SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZES THE USE OF CALL-
 ER IDENTIFICATION MANIPULATION.
   § 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 8303 of the civil prac-
 tice law and rules, as amended by chapter 530 of the laws  of  2002,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   6. to the plaintiffs in an action or proceeding brought by the [attor-
 ney-general] ATTORNEY GENERAL under [articles] ARTICLE twenty-two, twen-
 ty-two-A,  twenty-three-A or thirty-three or section three hundred nine-
 ty-one-b, THREE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE-PPP, or five hundred twenty-a of the
 general business law, or under subdivision twelve of section sixty-three
 of the executive law, or under article  twenty-three  of  the  arts  and
 cultural  affairs  law,  or  in  an  action or proceeding brought by the
 S. 5266                             3
 
 [attorney-general]  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  under  applicable   statutes   to
 dissolve  a  corporation or for usurpation of public office, or unlawful
 exercise of franchise or of corporate right, a  sum  not  exceeding  two
 thousand dollars against each defendant.
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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