A bipartisan companion bill to one introduced recently in the Senate has been introduced in the House of Representatives that seeks to stiffen the penalties for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, including jail time for those found to have willfully or knowingly violated the statute, as well as doubling the penalty for those found to have falsified their caller ID information.
Aptly named, the Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone (DO NOT) Call Act, was introduced by Rep. Deborah Ross [D-N.C.] and Rep. David Kustoff [R-Tenn.] this week. Their bill, H.R.4919 has the same name and appears to have the same provisions as S. 1913, which was introduced in the Senate in June by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto [D-Nev.] and cosponsored by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.]. Rep. Kustoff was one of the members of Congress behind the TRACED Act.
“Robocalls have skyrocketed in the past few years, posing serious threats to consumers—especially to older Americans. With a changing technological landscape, malicious actors and companies are increasingly able to extract sensitive personal information to defraud and scam victims,” said Rep. Ross, in a statement. “It’s deeply concerning just how widespread robocalls are in North Carolina and beyond. There is an urgent need for Congressional action to protect consumers, to deter predatory robocalls, and to hold individuals and companies accountable. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Representative Kustoff and will continue working with my colleagues in the Senate to see it become law.”
Among the penalties in both versions of the proposed legislation are:
- Allowing prison terms of up to one year for willfully and knowingly violating the TCPA
- Allowing prison terms of up to three years for aggravated violations of the TCPA
- Doubling the maximum penalties under the TCPA for falsifying caller ID, to $20,000 from $10,000
“This bill would give more authority to our judicial system to protect Americans from being scammed and defrauded, and further deter bad actors from placing these calls in the first place,” Rep. Kustoff said in a statement.
