Skip to main content
HR 4439 99th Congress House

Telephone Decency Act of 1986

Official title: A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to restrict the making of obscene and indecent communications by telephone.

Introduced: June 24, 1986 See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Communications and BroadcastingCrime preventionPornographyTelephone
This bill died when the 99th Congress ended
It never became law before the 99th Congress (1985–1986) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 18, 1986
Referred to Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Consumer Protection and Finance.
Mar 18, 1986
Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Mar 18, 1986
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action March 18, 1986

Referred to Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Consumer Protection and Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Telephone Decency Act of 1986 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any obscene or indecent telephone communication for commercial purposes to any person in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communication. (Current law prohibits such communication to any person without his or her consent or to any person under 18 years of age.)

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4439: Telephone Decency Act of 1986. 99th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/99-HR-4439/
MLA
"H.R. 4439: Telephone Decency Act of 1986." 99th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/99-HR-4439/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4439, 99th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/99-HR-4439/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4439: Telephone Decency Act of 1986](https://openamerica.io/bill/99-HR-4439/)
Report a problem