FCC Announces Formation of Hospital Robocall Protection Group Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the formation of a Hospital Robocall Protection Group. According to the FCC, this group—whose formation is mandated by the TRACED Act—will work to develop best practices for the following: How voice service providers can better combat unlawful robocalls made… Continue reading FCC Announces Formation of Hospital Robocall Protection Group
Tag: Robocalls
Smartphone App Includes Automatic Robocall Lawsuit Feature
As robocalls have become an increasingly prominent issue, software developers have produced a bevy of anti-robocall apps. Most of these are variations on a call-blocking theme but one new app takes things much further. DoNotPay’s “robot lawyer” app has a new feature, called Robo Revenge, that essentially baits robocallers into Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)… Continue reading Smartphone App Includes Automatic Robocall Lawsuit Feature
District Court Rules That Non-Commercial Advertising Robocalls to Landlines Do Not Violate TCPA
A recent District Court ruling in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case—Savett v. Anthem, Inc., CASE NO. 1:18-CV-274, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 190955 (N.D. Oh. Nov. 4, 2019)—threads a very specific needle and provides an interesting clarification regarding what constitutes a telemarketing robocall to a landline. The case involved prerecorded calls that Anthem placed… Continue reading District Court Rules That Non-Commercial Advertising Robocalls to Landlines Do Not Violate TCPA
UPDATE: Pennsylvania Governor Signs New Robocall Restrictions Into Law
As we previously noted, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed a bill enacting new restrictions on robocalls. Now governor Tom Wolf has signed that bill into law. To reiterate our previous coverage, the most notable aspect of this law is the provision that eliminates the 5 year time limit on the state’s Do Not Call (DNC)… Continue reading UPDATE: Pennsylvania Governor Signs New Robocall Restrictions Into Law
California Governor Signs New Robocall Bill Into Law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed new legislation into law that is designed to address fraudulent robocalls. The bill, SB208, Consumer Call Protection Act of 2019, announces that its purpose is to “identify those engaging in deceptive robocalls and protect Californians, especially vulnerable populations, from impostors using telecommunications to defraud consumers.” An addition to the Public… Continue reading California Governor Signs New Robocall Bill Into Law
Pennsylvania Set to Pass Stricter Robocall Rules Into Law
The Pennsylvania state legislature passed a new bill, HR-318, that introduces a number of new restrictions for robocalls. The most notable is that it now extends the state-level Do Not Call List protections in perpetuity. Previously, those protections only lasted for five years unless renewed. Callers will now need to honor any DNC restrictions indefinitely unless… Continue reading Pennsylvania Set to Pass Stricter Robocall Rules Into Law
Verzion to Automatically Enroll Customers in Robocall Blocking Feature
Verizon announced this week that they would begin automatically enrolling some of their users in their Call Filter program, which blocks robocalls.
FTC Debuts New Interactive Web Page With Years of Do Not Call and Robocall Data
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today a new interactive web page that allows consumers to access years of historical Do Not Call (DNC) and Robocall data with information on types of calls and spikes in complaints. The page, hosted on a Tableau Public interface, will be updated quarterly with new data. Consumers can use the… Continue reading FTC Debuts New Interactive Web Page With Years of Do Not Call and Robocall Data
FTC Launches Operation Call It Quits Against Robocallers
On July 25th, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with its state and federal partners, announced a major crackdown on illegal robocalls. The program, called Operation Call It Quits, includes 94 actions targeting operations responsible for over one billion calls. Enforcement actions have targeted robocallers pitching “fraudulent money-making opportunities” and “medical alert systems.” Combined… Continue reading FTC Launches Operation Call It Quits Against Robocallers
Phone carriers can now block robocalls by default
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Declaratory Ruling that will allow phone service providers to block robocalls by default. Reasonable call analytics will be used by the services providers to determine if default blocking will be allowed. There is currently no clarification of what constitutes “reasonable” or “wanted” which puts the burden on… Continue reading Phone carriers can now block robocalls by default