Today the United States Senate passed a new bill aimed at stopping annoying robocalls. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act passed today criminalized illegal robocalling. The bill also works to improve coordination between agencies policing robocalls. The bill will also require phone companies to use the new SHAKEN/STIR systems to prevent robocalls from using fake caller ID numbers.
“I applaud the Senate for taking an important step to crack down on unwanted robocalls and spoofed calls by passing the TRACED Act. This bill would allow industry to continue to drive implementation of call authentication technology on a timely basis, while recognizing that smaller providers may require more time to fully implement the technology. The bill would also strengthen FCC authority to bring robocall scammers to justice. Senators Thune and Markey and their many co-sponsors deserve praise for working on a bipartisan basis to address a matter of urgent concern for American consumers.”
This comes as the FCC has already announced several new efforts to end the growing number of robocalls. The FCC says they expect major phone companies to implement SHAKEN/STIR caller ID authentication standards this year. The FCC will also hold a summit on July 11, 2019, to examine the industry’s progress toward meeting this deadline.
STIR (Secure Telephony Identity Revisited) and SHAKEN (Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) standards to identify authentic calls across both company’s networks. T-Mobile already has this standard live and Comcast has announced plans to roll it out later this year.
Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Every week we have a live Cord Cutting Q&A, and weekly Cord Cutting recap shows exclusively on our YouTube Channel!
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.