Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Declaratory Ruling that will allow phone service providers to block robocalls by default. Reasonable call analytics will be used by the services providers to determine if default blocking will be allowed.
On Thursday May 23rd, 2019, the Senate approved the TRACED Act which will dramatically increase fines for illegal robocalls. The bill passed with an overwhelming 97-1 vote. Only a single vote from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was against the legislation. The TRACED Act’s next stop is the House of Representatives.
The TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act)was sponsored by Senators John Thune (R-SD), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). Its purpose is to combat robocalls with stronger deterrents.
On May 15, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) submitted a proposal that would allow phone carriers to block unwanted robocalls to their customers by default. Most phone service providers offer call-blocking as an opt-in service, but this new initiative would allow robocall blocking by phone carriers without opt-in.
State Restricted Do Not Call Dates
June 3, 2019 - Confederate Memorial Day
June 3, 2019 - Jefferson Davis' Birthday
Canadian Restricted Do Not Call Dates
June 21, 2019 - Aboriginal Day
A Wisconsin court issued a ruling this month that could result in more TCPA lawsuits against automated calling and texting platform providers. In the court’s ruling on Cunningham v.
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he will host a summit on July 11th, 2019 to examine telco companies progress in implementing the SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) and STIR (Secure Telephony Identity Revisited) caller ID authentication standards.
It's been a big week for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Newly proposed debt collection rules that may update the 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) could allow debt collectors to send unlimited texts and emails to consumers.
In April, the Fourth Circuit struck down the TCPA Debt Exemption that permitted automated calls to cellphones when the calls were for the collection of government-backed debt such as a student loan. The ruling called the exemption "unconstitutional" and nearly resulted in the invalidation of the entire TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act).