What is the TRACED Act?

The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 30, 2019. The act—whose name is an acronym for Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence—is sponsored by South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune and New Jersey Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone.

The TRACED ACT modifies sections of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which is itself an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934, codified as 47 U.S.C. § 227.

As can be inferred from its full name, the TRACED Act is a new legal mechanism for the regulation of robocalls. It instructs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact rulemaking on a number of issues relating to robocalls.