On Friday, May 1, 2020, the Commission released an Order (“Order”) amending section 1.80 of the Commission’s rules to implement enhanced penalties and additional time for the Commission to pursue entities that violate the restrictions on robocalls, as required by Section 3 of the TRACED Act.
Specifically, the Commission amends section 1.80 of its rules to implement these changes by:
- Providing that the Commission may in the first instance impose a penalty against any person or entity that violates section 227(b) (TCPA restriction on using an automatic telephone dialing system or prerecorded voice) of the Communications Act without issuing a citation or warning;
- Augmenting existing penalties for intentional violations of section 227(b), authorizing penalties of up to $10,000 per intentional unlawful robocall, in addition to the forfeiture penalty amount that the Commission may propose; and
- Extending the statutes of limitations for intentional violations of section 227(b) to four years (previously one year), and to four years for violations under section 227(e) (the Truth in Caller ID Act, or spoofing violations) (previously two years).
The Commission also released a Press Release (“Release”) announcing the amendments to the rules. Chairman Pai praised these amendments as another step in the Commission’s actions against spoofing and supports removing the warning requirement to speed up enforcements to protect consumers. The Release also notes recent enforcement actions taken by the Commission against illegal spoofed robocallers.
The Order will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Please Contact Us if you have any questions.