Fifty-four of the 56 members of the National Association of Attorneys General have written a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation seeking passage of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, aimed at stopping illegal robocalls.
The bill would stiffen the fines allowed to be levied against perpetrators of illegal robocalls, give the Federal Communications Commission more time to investigate and take enforcement actions, require carriers to adopt call authentication technology, and direct the FCC to issue a rule protecting individuals from receiving unwanted calls or text messages. It was introduced by Sen. John Thune [R-S.D.], and Sen. Edward Markey [D-Mass.].
The AGs from all 50 states as well as those from the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S Virgin Islands all signed the letter, a copy of which can be accessed by clicking here. The only AGs not to sign were the ones from Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
“We believe that this legislation effectively addresses many of the concerns raised by federal regulators, voice service providers, private businesses, consumer advocacy groups, and other interested parties to combat illegal robocalls and spoofing, and we are heartened that it enables the telecom industry, federal regulators, and our offices to take meaningful steps to abate the rapid proliferation of these illegal and unwanted robocalls,” the group wrote in its letter.
Specifically, the AGs liked that carriers would be required to participate in the call authentication framework and the creation of an inter-agency working group.
ACA International, meanwhile, expressed some concerns about the proposed legislation, specifically “its failure to draw clear distinctions between legitimate callers and scammers, and to provide important protections for legal calls.”
