Established in 2003, the Do Not Call Registry is offered by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to all consumers who do not want to receive unsolicited automated phone calls from telemarketers, commonly referred to as robocalls. Many states have enacted their own Do Not Call lists, which are typically enforced by attorneys general. Unfortunately, robocalls remain a frequent means for scam artists and an unwanted nuisance in consumers’ lives as bad actors have found ways to avoid robocall regulation. 

Attorneys general have actively worked to prevent illegal robocalls through a variety of methods, including: 

• Developing Anti-Robocall Principles, signed by 51 attorneys general and 12 major telecom providers, to reduce the number of unwanted and illegal robocalls.  
• Establishing the Robocall Technologies Working Group to work with telecom voice service providers to design, develop, and implement technological solutions. 
• Supporting the TRACED Act, federal legislation signed into law in 2019 to combat illegal robocalls through industry-wide implementation of call authentication protocols with call-blocking technology.  
• Calling on the U.S. telecommunications industry to bolster technological capabilities to improve enforcement against robocallers. 
• Investigating, identifying, and taking legal action against perpetrators.  

Find out how attorneys general serve the public in other areas of consumer protection or learn how to contact your attorney general’s consumer protection office.