Attorney General Bonta Joins Bipartisan Coalition in Support of FCC’s Latest Proposed Anti-Robocall and Anti-Robotext Efforts

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a bipartisan coalition of 28 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on proposals designed to reduce the number of robocalls and robotexts received by consumers. On March 16, the FCC adopted anti-robotext rules requiring for the first time that mobile wireless providers block text messages that are highly likely to be illegal — because the sender phone numbers are invalid, unallocated, unused, or found on a “do-not-originate” list. Attorney General Bonta strongly supported those rules. Today’s letter builds on that work by responding to the FCC’s request for public comment regarding additional anti-robotext and anti-robocall protections needed for consumers.

“Day in and day out, Californians receive illegal robocalls and robotexts — that needs to stop,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Robocalls and robotexts are not just annoyances, but can also scam consumers, particularly our elders, out of hundreds or thousands of dollars. While we’ve made some progress in addressing this problem, I support the FCC’s efforts because there is more work that needs to be done.”

In the comment letter, the attorneys general:

• Support the FCC’s proposed rule that would formally clarify that the Do-Not-Call Registry protections extend to robotexts, not just robocalls. This means that a company cannot send a marketing text to a phone number on the Do-Not-Call Registry without the prior express consent of that consumer.
• Support the FCC's proposed rule that would require wireless telecommunications companies, after receiving notice from the FCC, to investigate and block texts of senders suspected of transmitting illegal texts. 
• Urge the FCC to clarify what it means for a consumer to “consent” to receiving telemarketing calls or texts under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The attorneys general write that in order to close the so-called “lead generator loophole" — through which an entity provides a service online, such as an insurance quote, in exchange for a consumer agreeing to receive calls and/or texts from that entity's marketing partners — the FCC needs to make clear that consent to receiving telemarketing calls or texts should be given one entity at a time. A single entity's marketing partners can often run in the thousands. 

Attorney General Bonta has been at the forefront of multistate and state-federal efforts to combat illegal robocalls and robotexts. Among other actions, Attorney General Bonta has filed a lawsuit against Avid Telecom for allegedly initiating and facilitating billions of unlawful robocalls in California and around the country; announced a new partnership on robocall investigations with the FCC;  and announced the launch of a bipartisan, nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States.

In submitting the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

A copy of the letter is available here.