WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday applauded the passage of the bipartisan TRACED Act, legislation he cosponsored to help end the growing number of illegal robocalls that plague consumers. It’s estimated that in 2018, the number of illegal robocalls increased by more than 36% from the previous year and reached almost 48 billion total. This bill, which was introduced by U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), broadens and extends the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) enforcement against violators and requires telecom companies to verify that incoming calls are legitimate before reaching consumers’ phones. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is also a co-sponsor of this bill.

“I’ve heard loud and clear from people all across Connecticut who are sick of being inundated with illegal robocalls. I’m proud to support bipartisan legislation that aims to put an end to them,” said Murphy. “These calls can be used to steal personal data and defraud Americans. I look forward to seeing this become law.”

The legislation is supported by 54 state and territory Attorneys General, including Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, all FCC and Federal Trade Commission Commissioners (FTC), major industry associations, and leading consumer groups.

The TRACED Act: 

  • Broadens the authority of the 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 three 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 willful violators.
  • Brings together the Department of Justice, FCC, FTC, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of State, U.S. 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. 

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