Sponsors (14)
The bill substantially strengthens criminal penalties to deter robocalls and give fraud victims greater recourse, but it also raises criminal and compliance risks for businesses and creates legal uncertainty that may chill legitimate automated communications and raise costs for consumers.
All Americans (consumers broadly, including renters and low- and middle-income households) will likely face fewer unwanted automated calls and large-scale scam campaigns because willful TCPA violators — and especially high-volume robocallers that exceed statutory thresholds — can now face criminal fines and imprisonment, increasing deterrence.
Victims of telephone fraud and schemes that produce aggregate losses of $5,000 or more in a year gain stronger criminal legal recourse because such conduct is identified as aggravating and carries criminal exposure.
State and local governments and regulators gain clearer enforcement authority because the FCC's statutory provisions are updated to reference the new criminal subsection, reducing ambiguity for coordination and prosecutions.
Small businesses and call vendors that use autodialers face criminal liability, including the possibility of fines and imprisonment for willful violations, increasing legal risk for routine marketing and outreach operations.
Hospitals, schools, universities, and other organizations that send legitimate automated messages (appointment reminders, notifications) may face chilling legal uncertainty because key terms like 'willful and knowing' and definitions of 'call' and 'initiate' are unclear, risking reduced automated outreach.
Consumers could bear higher costs or reduced services because increased enforcement risk and compliance requirements (legal fees, technical changes) for businesses may be passed through as higher prices or less automated functionality.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates federal criminal penalties for willful and knowing violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for initiating autodialed or prerecorded voice calls and texts to North American phone numbers without consent. Penalties include imprisonment up to 1 year and fines, with an aggravated tier (up to 3 years and larger fines) for repeat offenders, very large call volumes, use of calls to further a felony, or aggregate losses of $5,000+ in a year.
Introduced December 4, 2025 by David Kustoff · Last progress December 4, 2025