AG Slatery Urges Expansion of Illegal Robocall Response

Nashville –Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III recently joined a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general in calling on USTelecom – the leading organization representing telecommunications providers – and its Industry Traceback Group (ITG) to continue its collaboration with state attorneys general by bolstering technological capabilities to improve enforcement against illegal robocallers.

In a letter sent Monday to USTelecom, the coalition urged the association to further develop robocall traceback and other tools suited to law enforcement needs.

“We need to use technology to beat illegal robocallers at their own game,” said General Slatery. “Imagine stopping a live robocall campaign in its tracks. That’s the goal.”

Specifically, the coalition is asking for the development of an online platform to collect live data from carriers and robocall-blocking apps. When USTelecom or a law enforcement agency detects an illegal robocall campaign, the law enforcement agency would then be able to submit a subpoena to USTelecom in a streamlined online portal.

The process would allow for rapid review by USTelecom and provide law enforcement agencies the ability to expedite subpoena procedures and access the platform to quickly retrieve relevant data. The platform would bolster law enforcement investigations and could potentially lead to attorneys general offices issuing temporary restraining orders.

The coalition believes these measures would strengthen the partnership between the USTelecom-backed ITG and attorneys general, a relationship that led to the creation of the Anti-Robocall Principles established in August 2019.

More recently – and due in part to the support from the telecommunications industry and state attorneys general – the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act was signed into law. This law enables the industry to develop call-authentication protocols to combat caller-ID spoofing and implement other sweeping anti-robocall measures.

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Press Release #20-17: AG Slatery Urges Expansion of Illegal Robocall Response