NCISS Urges FCC to Permit PI's to Alter
Caller ID's
The job of a trade association and its government affairs leaders does not
end with the passage of a bill in Congress. It is just as important to
follow up with the administrative agencies that are authorized by a statute
to carry out the laws passed by our legislative branch of government.
The "Truth in Caller ID Act", which limits the use of "spoofing" of caller
id numbers, requires that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopt
a rule to spell out exactly how the law will be carried out.
The FCC published a notice in the Federal Register asking interested members
of the public to comment on how the law should be carried out. The deadline
for responding to the request was April 18.
NCISS filed its official comments before the deadline in order to urge the
FCC to adopt regulations which reflect the "intent of congress" as expressed
by Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL) when he said on the floor of the US
House of Representatives:
"The bill specifically prohibits knowingly sending misleading or inaccurate
caller id information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully
obtain anything of value. We drafted and amended the language carefully to
ensure that we only prohibit those practices intended to do harm".
The NCISS comments to the FCC pointed out that there are many legitimate
reasons to alter caller id information, including for individuals working
from home, for those in women's shelters or for private investigators while
trying to locate a witness, solve identity theft or find a missing child. We
explained the need to protect private investigators while working
undercover.
The FCC will now review and consider the comments it has received from the
public and issue a final rule to carry out the law.
Keeping the profession informed,
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Jimmie Mesis 
NCISS Legislative Chairman
NCISS
7501 Sparrows Point Blvd.
Baltimore, Maryland 21219-1927
(800) 445-8408 . Fax: (410)
388-9746
jim@nciss.org
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