NORFOLK, Virginia — President Trump signed a measure late Monday that puts the TRACED Act into law, or the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act. Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D) co-sponsored the legislation.
“The truth is, folks in Virginia and across the nation are sick and tired of receiving unsolicited robocalls at all hours of the day,” said Senator Warner. “These calls are intrusive and often set up by scammers looking to prey on vulnerable individuals. I’m proud to have sponsored this legislation and am very excited to see it signed into law so that it can start giving individuals some peace of mind. Personally, I know I won’t miss these annoying robocalls, and I have a feeling other Virginians won’t either.”
Tech vendor YouMail says Americans received 5 billion robocalls in November alone, with Virginia ranking 5th for the greatest number of complaints made to the Do Not Call Registry.
The TRACED Act does the following:
- Broadens the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to levy civil penalties of up to $10,000 per call on people who intentionally flout telemarketing restrictions.
- Extends the window for the FCC to catch and take civil enforcement action against intentional violations to four years after a robocall is placed. Under current law, the FCC has only one year to do so, and the FCC has told the committee that “even a one-year longer statute of limitations for enforcement” would improve enforcement against violators.
- Brings together the Department of Justice, FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Commerce, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other relevant federal agencies, as well as state attorneys general and other non-federal entities to identify and report to Congress on improving deterrence and criminal prosecution at the federal and state level of robocall scams.
- Requires voice service providers 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 help protect subscribers from receiving unwanted calls or texts from callers.
- Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking process to protect consumers from “one-ring” scams.
- Requires the FCC to establish a working group to issue best practices to prevent hospitals from receiving illegal robocalls.
Be on the lookout, experts warn that scammers will find new ways to trick people on their phones.