Central Florida Congressman Darren Soto, a Democrat, introduced H.R. 7124, the Roboblock Act, which is a bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to put regulations in place that require providers of voice service to offer a robocall-blocking service at no additional charge.
The Roboblock Act is part of the larger Do Not Disturb Act, introduced by Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. and co-sponsored by Rep. Soto. The Do Not Disturb Act aims to protect consumers from dangerous and unwanted calls and texts that have been exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid.
“There is no reason why Americans should be getting flooded with spam calls and text messages. We must do better to protect them from these bothersome communications,” said Rep. Darren Soto. “As scammers find more ways to circulate these messages, we must get ahead of it and make sure providers offer robocall blocking services as part of the base price.”
“Whether they’re about a fake car auto warranty, a tech support scam, a non-existent online purchase, or some other attempt to steal personal and financial information, the robocalls just keep coming,” said Ranking Member Pallone. “And Americans shouldn’t have to pay extra just to avoid these egregious scammers. I appreciate Rep. Soto’s continued work to ensure consumers aren’t charged premiums just to put an end to these unwanted and abusive calls and texts.”
In 2021, the Supreme Court ruling in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid narrowed the definition of auto-dialer technology, excluding the bulk of robocalls taking place today from the commonsense consumer protections included in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
For the full text of the Roboblock Act, click here. View the Do Not Disturb Act online.
