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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10705 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10705
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish prohibitions with
respect to SIM boxes, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2026
Mr. Shreve (for himself, Mr. Subramanyam, and Mr. Menendez) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish prohibitions with
respect to SIM boxes, and for other purposes.
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 ``Stop SIM Box Scams Act''.
SEC. 2. SIM BOXES.
(a) In General.--Part I of title III of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 346. SIM BOXES.
``(a) Prohibition.--No individual or entity may, in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, carry out any of the following
activities:
``(1) Manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, lease,
advertise, possess, use, or distribute any SIM box.
``(2) Reprogram, adapt, configure, or otherwise modify any
device, equipment, software, system, or service to enable such
device, equipment, software, system, or service to function, in
whole or in part, as a SIM box.
``(3) Assist, including by knowingly allowing on the
property of such individual or entity, an activity specified in
paragraph (1) or (2) that is carried out by another individual
or entity.
``(b) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to
activities carried out on or after the date that is 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this section.
``(c) Implementation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Commission shall--
``(1) promulgate regulations with respect to the
implementation of this section, including regulations to
establish procedures for clarifying and refining the definition
of the term `SIM box' to ensure that such term--
``(A) includes all items that are functionally
equivalent to a SIM box; and
``(B) excludes any device, equipment, software,
system, or service used for a permissible purpose, as
determined by the Commission;
``(2) publish, and thereafter maintain--
``(A) a non-exhaustive list of devices, equipment,
software, systems, and services prohibited under
subsection (a); and
``(B) a non-exhaustive list of devices, equipment,
software, systems, services, and uses permissible
pursuant to an exclusion described in subsection
(h)(3)(B); and
``(3) establish procedures, as appropriate, for
manufacturers and distributors to--
``(A) demonstrate that any device, equipment,
software, system, or service, that would otherwise be a
SIM box, is not a SIM box by reason of such device,
equipment, software, system, or service satisfying an
exclusion described in subsection (h)(3)(B); and
``(B) ensure accurate advertising.
``(d) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the Commission
shall coordinate with--
``(1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Attorney General,
and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to prevent the
importation and distribution of SIM boxes; and
``(2) the Federal Trade Commission, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and State attorneys
general with respect to enforcement, information sharing, and
training.
``(e) Enforcement.--
``(1) Treatment of violations.--For purposes of enforcement
pursuant to the provisions of this Act, each SIM box
manufactured, imported, sold, offered for sale, leased,
advertised, possessed, used, or distributed in violation of
this section, each item reprogrammed, adapted, configured, or
otherwise modified in violation of this section, and each day
of a continuing violation of this section, may be treated as a
separate violation of this section.
``(2) Cease and desist orders.--The Commission may, after
determining that an individual or entity is carrying out an
activity in violation of this section, issue a temporary cease-
and-desist order requiring such individual or entity to
immediately stop such activity and such order may remain in
effect for up to 180 days (unless extended by the Commission
after the provision of notice and an opportunity for a
hearing).
``(3) Private right of action.--
``(A) In general.--A provider of mobile service
injured by an activity in violation of this section, or
a regulation promulgated under this section, may bring
in an appropriate district court of the United States--
``(i) an action to enjoin the violation;
``(ii) an action to recover damages; or
``(iii) both such actions.
``(B) Attorney's fees.--The court may award to a
prevailing party in an action brought under this
paragraph reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by
the court.
``(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Commission
shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report describing, with respect to the
preceding 1-year period, the implementation of this section, including
associated enforcement activities and efforts of the Commission to
coordinate with Federal agencies and State attorneys general with
respect to enforcement activities.
``(g) Safe Harbor.--
``(1) In general.--No cause of action may be brought in any
court or administrative agency against any provider of mobile
service on account of any act undertaken by, or on behalf of,
such provider if such act was undertaken in good faith and
there was a reasonable basis to believe that such act was
necessary or appropriate to detect, identify, locate, mitigate,
disrupt, or support an enforcement action with respect to a SIM
box, including an act--
``(A) to monitor the equipment, networks, or
systems of such provider in relation to detecting,
identifying, locating, mitigating, disrupting, or
supporting an enforcement action with respect to a SIM
box; or
``(B) to provide to the Commission or another
Federal or State agency, in relation to detecting,
identifying, locating, mitigating, disrupting, or
supporting an enforcement action with respect to a SIM
box--
``(i) information or access to information
(including communication records, communication
contents, and other information relating to a
customer or communication);
``(ii) access to facilities; or
``(iii) other reasonable assistance.
``(2) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to any act
to the extent such act--
``(A) is unrelated to detecting, identifying,
locating, mitigating, disrupting, or supporting an
enforcement action with respect to a SIM box;
``(B) involves the use, retention, or disclosure of
information obtained through an act described in such
paragraph for a purpose that is unrelated to the
detection, identification, location, mitigation,
disruption, or support of an enforcement action with
respect to a SIM box, unless such use, retention, or
disclosure is required by law; or
``(C) constitutes willful misconduct, gross
negligence, or bad faith.
``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to--
``(A) create, for a provider of mobile service, a
duty to monitor the equipment, networks, or systems of
such provider or to provide to any entity--
``(i) information or access to information
(including communication records, communication
contents, and other information relating to a
customer or communication);
``(ii) access to facilities; or
``(iii) other assistance; or
``(B) affect, with respect to a provider of mobile
service, the availability of any legal defense,
including a defense under common law or statute.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Mobile service.--The term `mobile service' has the
meaning given such term in section 3 of this Act.
``(2) SIM.--The term `SIM' means a physical subscriber
identity module, a non-physical subscriber identity module, or
any comparable credential or profile used to authenticate a
device or user with respect to a mobile service.
``(3) SIM box.--
``(A) In general.--The term `SIM box' means any
device, equipment, software, system, or service
(including any virtualized, remote, or cloud-based
system, platform, or service) that--
``(i) enables, or is designed, advertised,
or reasonably expected to enable, the automated
pooling, rotation, multiplexing, or concurrent
use of 2 or more SIMs, International Mobile
Subscriber Identities, or equivalent
credentials to originate, route, forward, or
terminate communications with respect to a
mobile service; and
``(ii) is designed, advertised, or
reasonably expected to--
``(I) obscure or misrepresent call
or data origin;
``(II) defeat caller identity
authentication or traceback; or
``(III) bypass or evade lawful
controls of a provider of mobile
service, including interconnection
agreements, access charge arrangements,
and numbering policies.
``(B) Exclusions.--The term `SIM box' does not
include the following:
``(i) Any device, equipment, software,
system, or service authorized or licensed by
the Commission for a purpose permissible under
this Act.
``(ii) Any device, equipment, software,
system, or service used solely by a Federal,
State, Tribal, or local government for an
official purpose.
``(iii) Any device, equipment, software,
system, or service used solely within a
laboratory or another testing facility
recognized by the Commission for conformance,
security, or interoperability testing, if such
device, equipment, software, system, or service
is not offered for sale or public use.
``(iv) Any device, equipment, software,
system, or service used for purposes of the
internal testing of equipment or systems by a
provider of mobile service authorized or
licensed by the Commission.
``(v) Any other device, equipment,
software, system, or service the Commission
determines appropriate.''.
(b) Forfeiture of Communications Devices.--Section 510(a) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 510(a)) is amended by inserting
``and any item with respect to which an activity prohibited under
section 346 is carried out in violation of such section, or rules
prescribed by the Commission under such section,'' after ``sections,''.
(c) Privacy of Customer Information.--Section 222(d) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) to provide assistance to a Federal agency with
respect to a SIM box consistent with section 346.''.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act, including the
amendments made by this Act, may be construed to limit any other
authority of a Federal agency, including the Federal Communications
Commission, including any authority with respect to the following:
(1) Caller identification.
(2) Robocall mitigation.
(3) Fraud.
(4) Equipment authorization.
(5) Numbering administration.
(6) Critical infrastructure protection.
(7) Radio magnetic spectrum monitoring.
(8) Disaster response coordination.
(9) Public safety communications.
(e) Preemption.--
(1) In general.--No State, or political subdivision of a
State, may maintain, enforce, prescribe, or continue in effect
any law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other
provision having the force and effect of law that conflicts, or
is otherwise inconsistent, with this Act, or the amendments
made by this Act.
(2) Rule of construction.--For purposes of paragraph (1), a
law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other
provision having the force and effect of law may not be treated
as in conflict, or otherwise inconsistent, with this Act to the
extent that such law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard,
or other provision imposes a limitation--
(A) with respect to SIM boxes (only as such term is
defined in section 346(h) of the Communications Act of
1934); and
(B) that is more strict than the limitations
imposed by this Act, including the amendments made by
this Act.
(f) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the application
of such a provision to any individual, entity, or circumstance, is held
invalid, the remaining provisions of this Act, and the application of
such provisions to any other individual, entity, or circumstance, may
not be affected.
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