New federal law will impose steeper fines on telemarketers

Federal and state officials are attempting to crack down on robocalls in response to irate constituents.

A federal bill, signed into law on Monday by President Donald Trump, requires telecommunications companies to offer call-authentication technology and robocall blocking to all consumers at no additional cost.

New Yorkers receive 10.4 million robocalls daily, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration said on Tuesday. Nationwide, more than 5 billion robocalls were made in November, according to YouMail, a provider of robocall blocking software.

The law increases the Federal Communications Commission’s enforcement powers by lengthening the statute of limitations for illegal robocalls from one year to four years and increasing fines.

The Justice Department, under the new law, has tougher penalties to levy against criminal robocallers and to protect patients, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who are targeted by the unlawful calls.

The law will “stiffen penalties, increase transparency and enhance government collaboration to stop unwanted solicitation,” Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota), who sponsored the robocall bill, said one of its key provisions mandates the telecom industry to stop robocalls from reaching consumers and provide them with more information about the calls they do receive. The companies would use a protocol, called "STIR/SHAKEN,"  which certifies that calls on a phone network are from legitimate senders, he said.

The federal measure “finally and officially puts illegal robocallers on notice,” Thune said.

Cuomo announced plans on Tuesday to introduce anti-robocall legislation in January with some of his proposals mirroring what’s in the new federal law. Spokesman Jason Conwall said the governor’s bill is necessary because the Trump administration "has demonstrated they can't be trusted to enforce consumer protection laws."

Cuomo wants to increase the maximum fines for violations of the state’s 2001 Do Not Call law from $11,000 per call to up to $22,000 per call.

“Illegal robocallers will not be let off the hook,” he said in a statement. “We are stepping up enforcement and doubling fines against anyone who violates New York’s Do Not Call law.”

Punishing robocallers has bipartisan appeal.

The federal legislation overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate last month.

In Albany, the State Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly approved a bill last spring to include live telemarketing calls under the Do Not Call law, which covers robocalls. The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach), also prohibits the sharing of consumers’ personal information without their consent.

Cuomo signed the bill into law last month and it goes into effect in March.

The number of robocalls has ballooned since a March 2018 court decision that ended the FCC’s 2015 rules intended to curb them. Low-cost software has made it easy to make mass calls, and some of those calls have defrauded consumers out of millions of dollars.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.