This bill changes penalties under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1993 (TCPA). It adds criminal penalties for willful and knowing violations. A general willful and knowing violation can lead to up to 1 year in prison, a fine, or both. Aggravated offenses can lead to up to 3 years in prison, a fine, or both if one or more conditions apply: a prior conviction under the new criminal subsection; very large numbers of calls (100,000 calls in 24 hours; 1,000,000 calls in 30 days; or 10,000,000 calls in 1 year); intent to use the calls to further a felony or a conspiracy to commit a felony; or causing aggregate losses of $5,000 or more to one or more persons in any 1-year period. The bill defines “call” broadly to include messages or other communications to North American Numbering Plan numbers made using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) or an artificial or prerecorded voice. It also includes text messages to mobile phones sent using an ATDS when sent without the prior consent of the recipient or as an emergency message. The bill also makes a technical cross-reference change and increases statutory penalty amounts for providing inaccurate caller identification information from $10,000 to $20,000 in two places.
The bill doubles statutory penalty amounts for specified inaccurate caller identification provisions from $10,000 to $20,000. No publicly available information on overall budgetary costs or estimated government enforcement costs is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.