Attorney General Ashley Moody
Press Release
January 4, 2020
After Attorney General Ashley Moody pushed for action by Congress, President Donald J. Trump signed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act. The TRACED Act is designed to reduce the number of illegal robocalls and stop spoofing—the practice of using technology to disguise a caller’s phone number.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “The TRACED Act is a crucial and necessary step for government agencies in Florida and across the country to be better equipped in combating illegal robocalls. I applaud President Trump for signing this bill into law that will help protect consumers.”
Attorney General Moody urged Congress earlier this year to pass the legislation because the TRACED Act enables states, federal regulators and telecom providers to each take steps in the effort to combat illegal robocalls. The legislation requires voice service providers to participate in a call authentication framework to help block unwanted calls. In addition, the TRACED Act creates an interagency working group that can take additional actions to reduce robocalls and hold telemarketers and robocallers accountable.
In March, Attorney General Moody joined a multistate bipartisan group of 54 attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in support of the bill.
To read the letter, click here.
To watch an earlier video message from Attorney General Moody on additional efforts to stop illegal robocalls, click here.
More than 48 billion robocalls were made in 2018. Robocalls remain the number one source of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, resulting in millions of dollars in consumer losses every year.