A recent Senate vote may bring relief to billions. The TRACED Act, designed to attack the Robocaller culture, has moved a step closer to being approved. Having already obtained approvals in the senate, its next and final destination is the President’s review.

Formally known as the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence act, named after the robocall prevention efforts of Democratic and Republican senators Frank Pallone and John Thune, TRACED is truly a bipartisan effort. Given today’s volatile political climate, it represents a step forward for bilateral collaboration.

The TRACED Act shifts the responsibility of handling nuisance calls from recipients to carriers. It requires carriers to find effective ways of blocking robocalls, and it prevents them from offloading call-block charges onto customers. It also increases the scope of authority that the FCC has over carriers, and levies steeper fines on those who violate established communication policies. A recent TechCrunch article by Devin Coldewey summarizes other TRACED benefits. Among many other advantages, it heightens regulation by allowing the Justice Department to take legal action against those who violate the law, and by establishing a task force to assess possible prosecution.

If passed, TRACED will be a major achievement for anti-robocall legislation, across party aisles and the nation.

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