Menendez, Booker Call on FCC to Establish Protections for Consumers from Unwanted, Harassing Robocalls

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker are among a group of 15 senators calling for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish protections for consumers from unwanted and harassing robocalls and robotexts. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down portions of a 2015 FCC ruling, making it easier for consumers to receive calls from automatic telephone dialing systems and for calls to be placed to reassigned numbers.
“In an era when the onslaught of unwanted and abusive robocalls is on the rise, we are concerned that the absence of these core protections could result in even more invasive calls and texts,” write the Senators in their letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Without swift and robust action by the FCC to ensure these sensible protections are in place, consumers may lose the right to both provide and revoke consent, subjecting them to a deluge of unwanted calls and texts.”
The Federal Trade Commission released a report earlier this year showing that New Jersey residents on their Do Not Call list made 321,393 complaints last year, more than any other state.
In the letter, the senators urged the FCC to establish consumer safeguards under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that would establish a comprehensive definition of the term auto dialer so that affirmative consent is received from consumers before calls are made, restrict unwanted calls and texts to reassigned numbers, and reiterate that consumers always have the right to revoke consent at any time should they no longer wish the receive robocalls or robotexts.
Also signing the letter are Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.).