Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show where a bunch of people have to get through a maze and the first one to get to the end wins? That sort of describes how Congress is handling its attack on robocalls; a lot of different people moving in multiple directions and the first one that gets out, wins.
In one part of the maze, the Senate has passed the TRACED Act, and that is moving forward at a pretty good clip. Not to be outdone, though, the House is looking to make progress on its own measures. Yesterday, Rep. Frank Pallone [D-N.J.] and Rep. Greg Walden [R-Ore.], the chairman and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, re-introduced a new version of the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act. Now with bipartisan support, the new version of the bill is expected to make significant progress.
According to a press release announcing the new bill, the proposed legislation would:
- Require that phone carriers implement call authentication technology so consumers can trust their caller ID again, with no additional line-item for consumers, and includes a process to help rural carriers implement this technology.
- Allow carriers to offer call blocking services to consumers with no additional line charge on an opt-out basis with important transparency safeguards to make sure important calls aren’t inadvertently blocked.
- Direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue rules to protect consumers from calls they didn’t agree to receive and to ensure consumers can withdraw consent.
- Require the FCC to enact safeguards so companies can’t abuse robocall exemptions.
- Ensure the FCC has the authority and the tools to take strong, quick action when it tracks down robocallers, including by extending the statute of limitations from one year to three, and in some instances four, years for callers violating robocall prohibitions.
- Mandate the FCC to submit a report to Congress on the implementation of its reassigned numbers database to make sure the Commission is effectively protecting consumers from unwanted calls.
There is possibly some good news for the industry in the new version of the bill: Rather than defining what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system on its own, the legislation would require the FCC to make that determination. As well, the FCC would be required to adopt regulations regarding how consumers can revoke consent to be contacted via an ATDS.
Not content to watch and see if any of the current bills make it through to the end of the maze, Rep. Donald McEachin [D-Va.], introduced his own bill yesterday, H.R. 3325, known as the Locking Up Robocallers Act of 2019
