Attorney General Jackley Calls On FCC to Block Robocallers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and 46 other Attorneys General call upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve their Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) and close what has effectively been an unmonitored loophole that bad actors exploit to access the U.S. telephone network.

"Illegal robocalls are a nuisance to all of us, and a means for scammers to take advantage of us," said Attorney General Jackley. "It is time for the FCC to strengthen its database and crack down on scammers."

Providers must register on the FCC's database to operate as a voice service provider in the United States. However, since it went live in 2021, the database has done little to prevent bad actors from obtaining legitimate registrations to send illegal robocalls through the U.S. telephone network. The coalition of Attorneys General is calling on the FCC to strengthen the database so providers understand what information they need to submit and have deadlines to submit this information, validate the data providers submit to flag inaccurate or misleading data, penalize providers for submitting false or inadequate information by preventing them from getting authorization to operate, and block non-compliant providers.

Other Attorneys General who have signed onto the letter to the FCC are from: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the letter is available here.

-30-