Two Anti-Robocall Bills Pass Chamber Finish Lines
Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2024 5:46 am
House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed new, comprehensive robocall reform. Passed by a vote of 429-3, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (“SBRA”) would give the Federal Communications Commission novel methods to enforce existing anti-robocall laws in addition to allowing the FCC to go after violators more strictly. Beyond giving the FCC the ability to levy an additional penalty of up to $10,000 for intentional violations, the SBRA also gives the FCC up to three years to go after robocall violators – a big extension from the one year it has under current law. The SBRA would also task the FCC with creating a robocall working group specifically to help hospitals clamp down on unlawful robocalls. Finally, under the SBRA, telecom providers are directed to implement a caller ID authentication technology free-of-charge for customers to block spoof calls that display legitimate-looking numbers.
Most notably for TCPA followers, however, the version of the SBRA that passed the House does not include the expanded definition of automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”) under the TCPA. Lawmakers architect data initially proposed to expand the definition of ATDS to include systems that dialed from a list of numbers; however, the version of the SBRA that ultimately passed the House did not include this definition.
The passage of the SBRA comes on the heels of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence, or TRACED Act, which passed the Senate nearly unanimously in May. Like the SBRA, the TRACED Act would expand the FCC’s enforcement options to pursue robocall violators, also including three years for the FCC to go after violators and the ability to levy fines of up to $10,000 per illegal call. Service providers would be required to adopt the agency’s SHAKEN/STIR call authentication procedures, which are intended to make it more difficult for scammers to spoof numbers.
The SBRA and TRACED Act are the first Congressional acts to cross their respective chamber finish lines in what was a crowded spring of anti-robocall rhetoric. Those efforts included the following additional legislative proposals:
Most notably for TCPA followers, however, the version of the SBRA that passed the House does not include the expanded definition of automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”) under the TCPA. Lawmakers architect data initially proposed to expand the definition of ATDS to include systems that dialed from a list of numbers; however, the version of the SBRA that ultimately passed the House did not include this definition.
The passage of the SBRA comes on the heels of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence, or TRACED Act, which passed the Senate nearly unanimously in May. Like the SBRA, the TRACED Act would expand the FCC’s enforcement options to pursue robocall violators, also including three years for the FCC to go after violators and the ability to levy fines of up to $10,000 per illegal call. Service providers would be required to adopt the agency’s SHAKEN/STIR call authentication procedures, which are intended to make it more difficult for scammers to spoof numbers.
The SBRA and TRACED Act are the first Congressional acts to cross their respective chamber finish lines in what was a crowded spring of anti-robocall rhetoric. Those efforts included the following additional legislative proposals: