Continues fight against annoying and illegal robocalls and robotexts
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Bonta today joined 28 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, in support of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule which would limit unwanted robocalls and robotexts. The rule in question would close a loophole that allows lead generators to trick a consumer into “consenting” to calls from potentially thousands of companies. Lead generators engage in generating consumer interest on public facing websites with the goal of turning that interest into a sale — in this case, sale of consumer consent to other robocallers or robotexters. The brief defends the regulation, which was recently vacated by the Eleventh Circuit, and argues that it is within FCC’s statutory authority under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
“Everyone hates robocalls. Robocalls continue to top the list of most frequent consumer complaints across the country, and their annihilation continues to be a nationwide, bipartisan effort,” said Attorney General Bonta. “By closing the lead-generator loophole and putting an end to consent abuse, the Federal Communications Commission’s rule would substantially reduce unwanted telemarketing robocalls that bombard individuals and prohibit telemarketers from selling consumer consent to other callers — this is an essential tool in the effort to protect consumers from unwanted and often illegal robocalls.”
In 2023, the FTC proposed a rule, supported by Attorney General Bonta and 28 attorneys general, which required that telemarketers and lead generators get specific one-to-one consent from consumers before subjecting them to robocalls or selling their contact information. Specifically, this meant that a consumer could not consent to a telemarketing or advertising robocall unless the consumer consented to calls from one entity at a time; this consent would also only cover subject matter associated with the original call. This rule aimed to both ensure that consent was in response to clear disclosure and to prevent lead generators, texters, and callers from using a single consumer written consent to inundate consumers with unwanted telemarketing robocalls and robotexts from dozens of sellers.
Robocalls are often a vehicle for scams. For Californians, the impact of illegal and unwanted robocalls can range from a momentary nuisance to serious fraud involving identity theft or life-changing financial losses. Phone calls and text messages are by far the most common contact method for fraud, and in 2023 alone, fraudulent phone calls and texts led to more than $1.2 billion in reported financial losses nationwide, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Robocalls are typically the number one consumer complaint to the FTC each year.
Attorney General Bonta is committed to working to put a stop to illegal robocalls. Attorney General Bonta is part of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a task force of 51 bipartisan attorneys general who investigate and take legal action against those responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States.
In 2024, Attorney General Bonta:
In May 2023, Attorney General Bonta, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general, announced a lawsuit against Avid Telecom for allegedly initiating and facilitating billions of unlawful robocalls that included Social Security Administration scams, Medicare scams, and employment scams.
In submitting today’s brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of the District of Columbia, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
A copy of the brief can be found here.