Attorney General Ashley Moody today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fight back against the recent scourge of illegal robocalls by moving up the deadline for smaller telephone companies to implement caller ID technology.

Moody is joined by a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general in submitting comments to the FCC.

Moody said, “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Floridians have been bombarded with countless robocalls—many of them scams attempting to gather sensitive information for nefarious purposes. It will take an all-hands-on-deck approach to stop these annoying, often illegal calls and that is why I am joining my colleagues from across the country in asking the FCC to take swift, decisive action in moving up the compliance deadline.” 

Under the TRACED Act, which became law in 2019, phone companies are required to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology on the company networks. This caller ID authentication technology helps ensure that telephone calls are originating from verified numbers, not spoofed sources. The TRACED Act required large companies to implement the technology by June 2021. Under the Act, smaller phone companies are given an extension until June 2023.

However, some of the same smaller phone companies that are benefitting from this extension are also responsible for originating or facilitating high volumes of illegal robocalls that spam Americans and lead to financial or personal data loss.

Without the STIR/SHAKEN technology in place, some smaller companies are failing to take necessary steps to minimize the continued onslaught of illegally spoofed robocalls that harm residents.

The coalition of attorneys general are asking the FCC to require these companies to implement the STIR/SHAKEN technology as soon as possible and no later than June 30, 2022.

Moody is joined in submitting today’s comments by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.