President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation that will strengthen overall enforcement efforts to stop the spread of robocalls.
Signed by the President on December 31, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act will implement forfeiture penalties for both intended and unintended violations of federal prohibitions against robocalls. The Act also requires voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies to more effectively block unwanted calls, and requires the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish regulations as to when a service provider can legally block voice calls based on information provided by such authentication methods.
FCC Chair Ajit Pai hailed Congress for working “in a bipartisan manner” to make the legislation a reality. “I welcome the removal of a previously-required warning we had to give unlawful robocallers before imposing tough penalties,” Pai noted in a statement issued following the President’s signing of the legislation. Further, “I am glad that the agency now has a longer statute of limitations during which we can pursue scammers.”
Read Pai’s statement on the signing of the TRACED Act into law.
