Robocalls get Trumped

Judge awards $229,500 for robocall harassment. Should you sue?  "For millions of Americans, robocalls are a barely tolerated nuisance. But when one Texas woman received 153 robocalls from a cable company, she didn't tolerate it, she complained – and was awarded almost a quarter of a million dollars. 
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan has ordered Time Warner Cable to pay Araceli King of Irving, Texas, $229,500 for harassing her with more than 100 robocalls even after she complained about them, behavior the judge called "particularly egregious."
"According to the ruling, Time Warner Cable violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, a law meant to curb robocall and telemarketing abuses." . . .

Trump signs the bill that ought to ensure his re-election "There is an excellent reason why the media largely are ignoring the bill that President Trump signed on Monday: when voters hear about it, they will want to vote for him out of sheer gratitude.

"Simply put, one of the most annoying aspects of life at home, robocalls, are now subject to federal legal sanction.  S. 151, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act:

This bill implements a forfeiture penalty for violations (with or without intent) of the prohibition on certain robocalls. The bill also removes an annual reporting requirement for enforcement relating to unsolicited facsimile advertisements.

The bill requires voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall promulgate rules establishing when a provider may block a voice call based on information provided by the call authentication framework, but also must establish a process to permit a calling party adversely affected by the framework to verify the authenticity of their calls. The FCC shall also initiate a rulemaking to help protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or texts from a caller using an unauthenticated number.

This bill requires the Department of Justice and the FCC to assemble an interagency working group to study and report to Congress on the enforcement of the prohibition of certain robocalls. Specifically, the working group will look into how to better enforce against robocalls by examining issues like the types of laws, policies, or constraints that could be inhibiting enforcement.

The bill requires the FCC to initiate a proceeding to determine whether its policies regarding access to number resources could be modified to help reduce access to numbers by potential robocall violators.

"Thanks, President Trump!  You've got my vote."   Thomas Lifson