Robocalling remains a major issue here in the U.S. Aside from being annoying, it’s also causing serious consumer harm.
For example, more and more customers are choosing to screen calls out of fear they may be coming from scammers. Last year, just 47 percent of incoming calls were answered, which is a 5 percent decrease from 2018. At the same time, robocalling skyrocketed—growing by 54.6 billion. This is a 108 percent YoY increase.
There is hope, though, that a new law will reduce the number of robocalls that leverage targeting and spoofing technologies to exploit consumers. In December the House and Senate passed the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act—a bipartisan law that gives federal regulators more authority to crack down on this nefarious practice.
What is the TRACED Act?
The TRACED Act is a landmark piece of legislation as it’s the first federal anti-robocall law. It essentially grants the FCC more authority to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which governs how companies can solicit their services to consumers.
The TRACED Act—which is now in effect—allows the FCC to increase fines against companies that violate the TCPA. It also mandates that voice service providers implement call authentication technologies to enhance caller identity. For instance, voice service providers must comply with the secure telephone identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (STIR/SHAKEN) framework in IP networks. Non-IP networks will require an “effective call authentication” framework. At the same time, it prevents carriers from charging for STIR/SHAKEN.
What’s more, the TRACED Act requires the FCC to compile an annual report on robocall enforcement, which is an indicator that the FCC will be cracking down on spammers. The Attorney General will also be tasked with establishing an interagency working group to monitor federal robocall prosecution.
New Penalties for TCPA Violations
The TRACED Act allows the FCC to implement penalties of up to $10,000 for intentionally circumventing the TCPA.
This law also extends the statute of limitations for TCPA violations from two years to four years.
In addition, the FCC can now go after scammers the first time they violate the TCPA.
Are you Prepared for the TRACED Act?
The TRACED Act is a critical law that you don’t want to overlook, as it could result in significant fines and penalties.
Televergence can work with your company to make sure that you’re up to date with the TRACED Act requirements. To learn more information, contact Televergence today.
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