House Subcommittee Passes Robocalling Act

The House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) released the following statement after the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (H.R. 3375) was reported to the full Energy and Commerce Committee by voice vote:  “The American people are fed up with robocalls, and thanks to the Subcommittee’s bipartisan action today we’re one step closer to putting consumers back in control of their phones,” Pallone and Doyle said.  “We commend the Democratic and Republican members of the Subcommittee for working together on bipartisan amendments strengthening this comprehensive legislation to end the robocall epidemic.  We look forward to bringing it up before the full Committee soon.”

The Act as introduced was amended by voice vote to include the following amendments, each of which were originally introduced as stand-alone bills.

• Amendment offered by Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) which requires the FCC to initiate a proceeding to protect consumers from one-ring-scams, including by working with foreign governments on these scams and by incentivizing carriers to stop calls made to perpetrate one-ring scams, among other things.
• Amendment offered by Reps. A. Donald McEachin (D-VA) and Pete Olson (R-TX) which requires the FCC to submit evidence of certain criminal robocall violations to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution and requires the FCC to publish an annual report disclosing how frequently the FCC submitted such evidence.
• Amendment offered by Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Darren Soto (D-FL), and Greg Gianforte (R-MN) which requires the FCC to register a consortium of companies engaged in private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls and creates a certification process for when carriers have or have not participated in a private-led effort to traceback the origin of a suspected unlawful robocall. It also requires the FCC to publish a report on carriers participation in private-led efforts to traceback the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls, and allows the FCC to permit some carriers to not accept calls from carriers facilitating suspected unlawful robocalls among other things.
• Amendment offered by Rep. Soto, on behalf of Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), which requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the FCC, to convene an interagency working group to study the enforcement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Among other things, the task force shall: (1) determine how federal law and budgetary constraints inhibit enforcement of the TCPA; (2) identify existing and additional policies and programs to increase coordination between federal departments and agencies and the states for enforcing and preventing violations of the TCPA; and (3) identify existing and potential international policies and programs to improve coordination between countries in enforcing the TCPA and similar laws.

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The Regulatory Mix Today: House Subcommittee Passes Robocalling Act, FCC Tribal Workshop, FTC to Host PrivacyCon

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FCC Tribal Workshop

The FCC announced it will hold a one-day workshop for Tribal governments, Tribal employees, and Tribal members on July 17, 2019.  At the event, Staff will provide presentations on a broad range of important FCC and other programs and policies that support Tribal economic development, Tribal schools and libraries, low-income families, and health care clinics, as well as Tribal radio stations, public safety departments, and Tribal government administration. The workshop will include, among other topics, information on new spectrum opportunities the Commission is considering that may promote expanded broadband access on Tribal lands.  The workshop will be held at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858.

FTC to Host PrivacyCon

The FTC announced it will host PrivacyCon 2019 to examine the latest research and trends related to consumer privacy and data security on June 27, 2019.  The event will feature opening remarks by FTC Chairman Joe Simons as well as presentations and discussions on a variety of privacy and data security research. PrivacyCon 2019 will be webcast. The webcast link will be posted to the event page on the day of the workshop. The event will be tweeted live from the FTC’s Twitter page (@FTC) using the hashtag #PrivacyCon19.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.