California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined forces with 28 other attorneys general to support a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule aimed at curbing unwanted robocalls and robotexts. This move comes in the form of an amicus brief submitted in the case of Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, advocating for the regulation that seeks to close a loophole exploited by lead generators.
Lead generators have been using public-facing websites to obtain consumer consent, which is then sold to multiple companies, allowing them to make unsolicited calls or send texts. The brief argues that the FCC's rule falls within its authority under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and aims to protect consumers from these invasive practices.
"Everyone hates robocalls," stated Attorney General Bonta. "Robocalls continue to top the list of most frequent consumer complaints across the country, and their annihilation continues to be a nationwide, bipartisan effort." He emphasized that closing this loophole would significantly reduce unwanted telemarketing communications.
In 2023, a rule proposed by the FTC required telemarketers and lead generators to obtain specific consent from consumers before contacting them or selling their information. This measure was designed to ensure transparency and prevent abuse of consumer consent.
The prevalence of robocalls as vehicles for scams is well-documented. In 2023 alone, fraudulent calls and texts resulted in over $1.2 billion in reported financial losses nationwide, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Such calls are frequently cited as a leading consumer complaint each year.
Attorney General Bonta remains committed to combating illegal robocalls through his involvement with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force. This task force consists of 51 bipartisan attorneys general who take legal action against entities responsible for significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic.
In 2024, Bonta took several actions against telecom companies involved in transmitting suspected illegal robocall traffic. These included sending warning letters and filing comment letters with the FCC regarding proposed rules and potential impacts of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence on efforts against illegal robocalls.
In May 2023, Bonta participated in a lawsuit against Avid Telecom alongside a coalition of 49 attorneys general for allegedly facilitating billions of unlawful robocalls involving various scams.
The amicus brief supporting the FCC's rule includes contributions from attorneys general across multiple states including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York among others.
A copy of this brief is available for public access.