Senate Passes TRACED Act, Aimed at Tackling Robocalls

The Senate passed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act (S 151) by a 97-1 vote. The bill would give the Federal Communications Commission civil fining authority of up to $10,000 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. The legislation would also give regulators more time to find scammers, increase penalties for those who are caught, promote call authentication and blocking, and help coordinate enforcement to increase criminal prosecution of illegal robocallers. It would also extend the statute of limitations for taking action against illegal robocalls from one year to three.