Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is joining attorneys general from 46 other states, demanding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) do more to protect communities from robocalls.
According to Coleman, voice service providers have to register on the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database, which began in 2021, to operate in the U.S. However, the attorneys general argue the database has “done little” to stop robocallers from obtaining illegitimate registrations to send calls through the U.S. phone network.
“Bad actors who prey on the vulnerable with illegal robocalls have no place in Kentucky,” Coleman said. “The FCC has the tools to prevent robocallers from taking advantage of our families, and it’s time for the Commission to use them.”
In a letter sent to the FCC on Tuesday, the attorneys general want the FCC to strengthen the database, including penalties for providers who submit false or inadequate information by preventing them from operating.
Coleman said in October, a monthly report estimates Kentuckians received 53.6 million robocalls out of the 5 billion robocalls made nationwide.
“If adopted, the proposed changes would make it harder for robocallers to gain access to the entire U.S. telephone network, effectively lessening the number of illegal robocalls here at home,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement on Friday.
