House Approves Comprehensive Robocall Bill TRACED Act

The US House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to approve the bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED Act), a Senate bill (S. 151) that would crack down on unwanted robocalls. The vote was 417-3.  The bill has already passed the Senate so it now heads to the President's desk. Among other things, the bill would give the Federal Communications Commission civil fining authority of up to $20,000 per call for those who "intentionally flout" telemarketing restrictions. That could add up given that, by some estimates, spam calls make up over 40% of all calls. It would also extend the statute of limitations for taking action against illegal robocalls from one year to three.   The bill would help punish bad actors--the FCC could seek financial penalties for misleading calls--and verify good calls, said its backers. It would also require carriers to provide default blocking at no extra cost.