The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act is now the law of the land. President Trump signed the bill yesterday. Enactment triggers a number of obligations under the statute regarding rulemakings and reports by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The TRACED act pushes carriers to kill robocalls before they ring, and gives the FCC some extra juice to pursue the wicked ones perpetrating them. Extends FCC’s statute of limitations on robocall offenses and increases potential fines
- Requires an FCC rulemaking helping protect consumers from spam calls and texts (this is already underway)
- Requires annual FCC report on robocall enforcement and allows for it to formally recommend legislation
- Requires adoption on a reasonable timeline of the STIR/SHAKEN framework for preventing call spoofing
- Prevents carriers from charging for the above service, and shields them from liability for reasonable mistakes
- Requires the attorney general to convene an interagency task force to look at prosecution of offenders
- Opens the door to Justice Department prosecution of offenders
- Establishes a handful of specific cutouts and studies to make sure the rules work and interested parties are giving feedback
This historic legislation will provide American consumers with even greater protection against annoying unsolicited robocalls. American families deserve control over their communications, and this legislation will update our laws and regulations to stiffen penalties, increase transparency, and enhance government collaboration to stop unwanted solicitation. President Donald J. Trump is proud to have worked with Congress to get this bipartisan legislation to his desk, and even prouder to sign it into law today.
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