Senate Passes Robocall Bill

The U.S. Senate passed S. 151, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or “TRACED” Act, yesterday in a 99-1 vote. A House companion bill (H.R. 1602), sponsored by U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., is currently pending in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

A summary of the TRACED Act:

• Gives the Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) enhanced enforcement tools, by (1) expanding the statute of limitations from one year to three; (2) eliminating the citation requirement for violations; and (3) allowing the Commission to impose fines of up to $10,000 per illegal call.

• Brings together relevant federal agencies as well as state attorneys general to identify and report to Congress information related to the prosecution of illegal robocalls.

• Directs the Commission to require service providers to implement the SHAKEN/STIR call authentication framework within 18 months of the enactment of the Act – with certain exceptions and allowing the FCC to extend the deadline.

• Requires providers of voice services to adopt call authentication technologies, enabling a telephone carrier to verify that incoming calls are legitimate before they reach consumers’ phones.

• Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to:
  • Identify options for protecting subscribers from receiving unwanted calls that use numbers not authenticated under SHAKEN/STIR.
  • Consider reduced access to numbers by potential violators.
  • Provide a safe harbor for voice service providers that block calls by legitimate calls under the SHAKEN/STIR protocol and to provide mitigation options for legitimate callers whose calls are blocked.

About Mac Murray & Shuster LLP

Mac Murray & Shuster (M&S) provides consumer protection regulatory compliance and defense counsel to businesses nationwide in highly regulated industries including teleservices, financial services, debt collection, healthcare, and charitable contributions. Led by former state regulators, including a former Ohio Attorney General, M&S helps clients thrive against a complex regulatory landscape through proactive compliance management and representation in litigation and other matters before state attorneys general and federal agencies including the FCC, FTC, and CFPB. Visit mslawgroup.com to learn more.

This article courtesy of Mac Murray & Shuster’s TCPA Monitor Blog and written by Michele Shuster.