HR 5717
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5717
To establish a reward system to provide monetary awards to individuals
who provide information relating to violations of the CAN-SPAM Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 8, 2008
Mr. MCCOTTER (for himself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. MEEKS of New York) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To establish a reward system to provide monetary awards to individuals
who provide information relating to violations of the CAN-SPAM Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Inform and Deter Spam Act' or the `ID Spam Act'.
SEC. 2. REWARD SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING VIOLATIONS OF THE CAN-SPAM
ACT.
Section 11 of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7710) is amended to read
as follows:
`SEC. 11. REWARDS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT VIOLATIONS.
`(a) Establishment of Fund-
`(1) CIVIL PENALTIES- If in any judicial or administrative action brought
by the Commission under this Act, the Commission obtains a civil penalty
against any person for a violation of this Act, the amount of such civil
penalty shall, on the motion or at the direction of the Commission, be added
to and become part of a fund established for the providing of rewards to
individuals who provide information concerning a violation of this Act.
`(2) ACCEPTANCE OF ADDITIONAL DONATIONS- The Commission is authorized to
accept, hold, administer, and utilize gifts, bequests and devises of property,
both real and personal, to the United States for a fund described in paragraph
(1). Such gifts, bequests and devises of money and proceeds from sales of
other property received as gifts, bequests and devises shall be deposited
in the fund established under paragraph (1) and shall be available for the
purposes of such fund as described in such paragraph.
`(b) Eligibility and Amount of Reward- The Commission may grant a reward in
an amount not to exceed $100,000 to any individual determined by the Commission
to have provided valuable information concerning a violation of this Act which
resulted in the imposition of a final court order against the person or persons
found in violation of this Act.
`(c) Reward Determination Sole Discretion of the Commission- The Commission
shall have the sole discretion to determine the eligibility for and the amount
of any reward granted under this section. Any decision by the Commission relating
to the granting of a reward, including whether, to whom, or in what amount
shall be final and shall not be subject to judicial review. No person is authorized
under this section to make any offer or promise or to otherwise bind the Commission
with respect to the payment of any reward authorized under this section.
`(d) No Grant of Immunity- The receipt of a reward under this section shall
not constitute immunity from criminal liability.
`(e) Unlawful To Provide False Information-
`(1) CONDUCT PROHIBITED- It shall be unlawful for any person to provide
any information to the Commission that such person knows or should know
to be false.
`(2) PENALTIES- Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall be fined under
title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or
both. Any person who violates paragraph (1) may be held civilly liable to
the United States and assessed a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000.
`(f) Regulations- The Commission is authorized to issue such regulations as
may be necessary to carry out the reward system authorized by this section.
Such regulations may include establishing procedures for filing a claim of
a reward under this section and procedures for maintaining the anonymity of
informants who provide information to the Commission concerning violations
of this Act.'.
SEC. 3. STUDY ON THE UTILITY OF THE REWARD SYSTEM.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every
2 years thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission shall transmit a report to
Congress on the utility of the reward system established under section 1,
including the number and amount of rewards granted and the number of successful
enforcement actions resulting from information reported to the Commission
for which a reward was granted.
END
