Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens deterrence and clarity to reduce robocalls and improve enforcement, but does so by expanding criminal penalties and enforcement scope — increasing legal risk and compliance costs for legitimate communicators and shifting burdens onto the criminal justice system and taxpayers.
Call recipients (consumers) — including middle-class families and taxpayers — are likely to face fewer unwanted robocalls and spam texts because willful and aggravated violators can be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned (up to 3 years).
Taxpayers and small-business owners gain stronger deterrence against large-scale automated calling operations because the bill defines high-volume thresholds (>100,000/24hr, >1,000,000/30d, >10,000,000/yr) that trigger aggravated penalties.
Middle-class families and tech workers benefit from clearer legal definitions (e.g., of 'call', 'initiate', coverage of texts, ATDS-originated calls, prerecorded/artificial voices), which should aid enforcement and consumer protection by reducing ambiguity.
Small-business owners and tech workers face increased criminal exposure (risk of imprisonment and fines) for sending calls or texts without consent, converting some violations that were previously civil into potential criminal offenses.
Small businesses, nonprofits, and legitimate mass-communication vendors (e.g., emergency alert providers) could be swept up by the high-volume numeric thresholds, raising compliance costs and chilling lawful outreach.
Taxpayers may bear higher costs and courts could face heavier caseloads because the bill shifts some TCPA enforcement from civil remedies into the criminal justice system, increasing prosecutorial discretion and potential incarceration costs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds federal criminal penalties for willful/knowing TCPA violations (up to 1 year; aggravated up to 3 years) and defines covered calls and aggravating conditions.
Introduced December 4, 2025 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress December 4, 2025
Creates new federal criminal penalties for willful and knowing violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Ordinary willful/knowing violations can be punished as a misdemeanor (up to 1 year in prison and fines under Title 18); more serious "aggravated" violations can carry up to 3 years in prison and fines when specific aggravating conditions apply (prior conviction, very large call volumes, intent to further a felony or conspiracy, or causing $5,000+ aggregate losses in a year). The bill also defines the covered "calls" to include voice calls and text messages to NANP numbers sent by automated dialing systems or with prerecorded/artificial voice, and clarifies what it means to "initiate" a call.