Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Gary Palmer announced a hearing focused on combating illegal robocalls and robotexts. The event, titled “Stopping Illegal Robocalls and Robotexts: Progress, Challenges, and Next Steps,” will be held by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
“Illegal, predatory robocalls and robotexts have defrauded Americans of billions of dollars and undermined the public’s faith in the communications they receive,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Palmer. They emphasized the difficulty in addressing these issues due to rapid technological advancements but expressed optimism about exploring ongoing efforts to combat these fraudsters.
The hearing is scheduled for June 4, 2025, at 10:15 AM ET in the Rayburn House Office Building. It will be open to both the public and press, with a livestream available online.
Sarah Leggin is expected to testify on industry progress against scam communications. In 2024 alone, wireless carriers blocked 55 billion scam texts and labeled or blocked 45 billion scam calls. Efforts like STIR/SHAKEN have reduced spoofing incidents, while initiatives such as Secure Messaging Initiative (SMI) have traced numerous robotexts leading to enforcement actions.
Despite these advances, challenges persist. Impersonation scams exploit consumer trust with high text message open rates compared to emails. Cross-platform risks continue to grow with new messaging technologies, while AI misuse by fraudsters complicates detection efforts.
Industry solutions include proactive sender verification for high-volume texts and employing machine learning for real-time fraud detection. Sarah Leggin highlighted that “text messaging’s 98% open rate reflects consumer trust—we’re fighting to keep it that way.”
Congressional recommendations suggest increasing funding for agencies like FCC/FTC/DOJ to prosecute offenders more effectively and expanding data sharing through SMI for quicker scam tracing.
The conclusion emphasizes maintaining momentum from the TRACED Act by supporting industry-led tools and collaboration across sectors.
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