The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) Friday Notified U.S.-based voice service providers (“VSPs”) that they may block calls from Florida-based VSP, Identidad Advertising Development LLC (“Identidad”), if it does not take immediate measures to mitigate suspected illegal robocall traffic, some of which was identified in a Cease and Desist Letter (“CDL”) the Commission concurrently sent to Identidad.
Identidad, listed as STIR/SHAKEN compliant in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database (“RMD”), was flagged by the Industry Traceback Group (“ITG”) as the gateway provider for numerous apparently unlawful robocalls, many of which contained impersonations of financial institutions. ITG traced the sources of calls from Romania and Indonesia during the period of August 8, 2024 to September 14, 2024 containing variations of the following prerecorded message:
This is a transaction alert call from Visa and Mastercard support. There has [sic] been two transactions done on your card for $299.00 on Walmart and $3,950.00 on Western Union. If you have made these transactions and accept the charges simply hang up. If you have not made these transactions and you wish to report fraud, please press 1 immediately.
ITG, after sending traceback requests to Identidad, asserts that Identidad transmitted those calls to cell phones, in apparent violation of 47 U.S.C. § 227(b) and 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a), which prohibit calls to cell phone numbers using an artificial or prerecorded voice message unless they are for an emergency purpose or with prior express consent of the called party. In its response to ITG, Identidad did not dispute its role as gateway provider for the subject calls, nor did it deny that the calls were illegal or claim any applicable exception to the rules.
Accordingly, under authority of 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(k)(4), the Commission notified VSPs that they may begin blocking all calls from Identidad if either (a) after 48 hours Identidad fails to effectively mitigate illegal traffic, or (b) to the extent that Identidad originates traffic, after 14 days Identidad fails to implement effective measures to prevent new and renewing customers from using its network to originate illegal calls. Failure by a downstream provider to monitor this situation and take appropriate action that is later found to result in delivery of bad traffic from Identidad could possibly result in regulatory problems for the downstream provider.
Identidad may be subject to additional sanctions if it does not timely and adequately respond to the Commission, including removal from the RMD and mandatory blocking of its calls pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 64.6305(g).
The FCC has stated on numerous occasions that combating illegal robocalls is the agency’s top consumer protection priority. Accordingly, the Commission will continue to vigorously enforce its rules against the origination and carrying of illegal robocalls. The Commission has been brutal on robocall rule violators and has shown that it will not hesitate to impose very steep fines and other sanctions on them. Consequently, it is critical that all VSPs ensure that they are actively engaged in mitigating unlawful robocalls and taking required measures such as fully implementing STIR/SHAKEN when appropriate, filing robocall mitigation plans, and promptly responding to traceback requests.
NEED HELP WITH ROBOCALL MITIGATION, COMPLIANCE AND LITIGATION SUPPORT/DEFENSE AGAINST BUSINESS & LEGAL CHALLENGES?
The CommLaw Group Can Help!
Given the complexity and evolving nature of the FCC’s rules, regulations and industry policies & procedures around Robocall Mitigation and Compliance issues (e.g., STIR/SHAKEN, TRACED Act, FCC & FTC Rules & Regulations, US Telecom Industry group, ATIS, NECA, VoIP Numbering Waivers, Know Your Upstream Provider and the private sector ecosystem), as well as the increased risk of business disputes, consumer protection enforcement by state attorneys general, and even civil litigation, and anticipating the potential torrent of client questions and concerns, The CommLaw Group formed a “Robocall Mitigation Response Team” to help clients (old and new) tackle their unique responsibilities.
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Michael Donahue — Tel: 703-714-1319 / E-mail: mpd@CommLawGroup.com
Rob Jackson – Tel: 703-714-1316 / E-mail: rhj@CommLawGroup.com
Ronald E. Quirk – Tel: 703-714-1305 / E-mail: req@CommLawGroup.com
Diana James – Tel: 703-663-6757 / E-mail: daj@CommLawgroup.com
