Public Service Commissioners applaud Federal government for signing anti-robocall bill into law

Mississippi Public Service Commissioners Brent Bailey, Dane Maxwell and Brandon Presley commend the efforts made by Congress and President Trump to pass the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which was designed to deter robocalls with harsher penalties.

The passage of this law authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to register a neutral third-party group of voice service providers to establish a procedure to identify and trace suspected robocalls. Among other things, the TRACED Act empowers the FCC to pass rules establishing an authentication system for phone numbers, rules for when a voice service provider may block a suspected robocall and rules that may allow subscribers to refuse calls from unauthenticated numbers that are likely to be robocalls.

“The passage of this law gives new tools to the FCC to target and punish illegal and predatory robocalls that consumers are overwhelmed with on a daily basis,” Commissioner Bailey said. “I appreciate the federal government for passing this act and I am ready to work with my fellow Commissioners to provide feedback to the FCC on new rules that stop these callers and give peace of mind to all Mississippians.”

“This law is an important step in the battle to protect the public from unwanted telemarketing calls and potential scams,” Commissioner Dane Maxwell said. “I commend President Donald Trump on his leadership on this issue and I look forward to working on this at the Public Service Commission to further protect Mississippi customers.”

“I welcome any tools we can use to give the people of Mississippi relief from the constant robocalls they receive throughout the day, especially criminals who are trying to use them to prey on our citizens,” said Commissioner Presley. “We will not stop until the illegal calls stop and the people behind them are brought to justice.”

The Mississippi Public Service Commission will be able to submit comments to the FCC about contents at every stage of the process through the final implementation in December 2022 to ensure Mississippians are protected. Additionally, the Commissioners look forward to working with the Mississippi legislature in strengthening and enforcing Mississippi’s anti-robocalls laws.

Release from the Mississippi Public Service Commission.