Washington, DC -As Americans receive illegal robocalls during the COVID-19 outbreak, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) and Chair Mike Doyle (D-PA) penned a bipartisan letter urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to use the enforcement tools they were given under last year’s congressional effort to stop robocalls.
In December, the president signed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act into law to give phone companies and the federal government new tools to protect American consumers and hold bad actors accountable.
“Specifically, the TRACED Act directed the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau of the Commission to provide any evidence it obtains suggesting a willful, knowing, and repeated robocall violation with an intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, to the Attorney General. While this provision, combined with the increase in civil penalties of up to $10,000 per call on people who intentionally cause a robocall violation, is a strong deterrent, ultimately DOJ must carry out the collection of those penalties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we urge you to go after these illegal robocallers aggressively and use the new tools Congress has given you to deter and enforce violations of the law effectively," the leaders wrote.
