With 140 days left in the session, the US House proposed Bill No. 800, titled the "DO NOT Call Act of 2023"[1] that would increase the penalties for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
The proposed bill introduces criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to one year for willful violations and up to three years in prison for aggravated offenses if certain conditions are met, such as the volume of calls made or involvement in felonies. It also proposes doubling the fines for providing inaccurate caller identification information and raising the penalties from $10,000 to $20,000.
In addition, a person may be imprisoned for up to three years for an aggravated violation of such restrictions if the person:
- Previously has been convicted of such an offense.
- Initiates a certain high volume of such calls during specified periods.
- Commits the offense in the furtherance of a felony.
- Causes losses of at least $5,000 to one or more persons during any one-year period.
If you have questions regarding this bill or complying with the Federal DO NOT Call policy, please do not hesitate to contact one of the attorneys at Cosgrove Law Group, LLC, at 314-563-2490.
[1] https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/800