Attorney General Brenna Bird Pushes Federal Government to Improve the Robocall Mitigation Database to Combat Illegal Robocalls

DES MOINES—Attorney General Brenna Bird today announced she and a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make improvements to its Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) that would help curb illegal robocalls. 

“Too many Iowans have been scammed by illegal robocalls,” said Attorney General Bird. “I’m urging the FCC to strengthen their database and change practices to protect Iowans’ hard-earned money. If any Iowan thinks they have been a victim of a robocall scam, please contact local law enforcement or my office.” 

Voice service providers must submit filings with the RMD including information about their business and practices to stop illegal robocalls before they can accept route call traffic through the U.S. communications network. Downstream providers are only allowed to accept calls from providers in the RMD. However, scammers are currently able to enter and remain the database with few obstacles.  

The attorneys general are urging the FCC to improve the RMD’s effectiveness by strengthening filing obligations and deterring bad actors and noncompliant providers from appearing. They argue these improvements would allow the RMD to serve as a barrier to entry and reduce illegal call traffic.  

The coalition filed comments in response to the FCC’s proposed changes to the RMD. In addition to what the FCC is already doing, the attorneys general urge it to:  

• Require additional disclosures. The FCC should require providers to disclose their use of third parties, related entities, the legitimacy of claims of a domestic presence, and access to numbering resources. 

• Make it more difficult for bad actors to enter or re-enter the RMD. The attorneys general support the FCC’s proposed methods to suspend or remove bad actors from the RMD, strengthen the filing format and content of robocall mitigation plans, and require that RMD filers provide evidence of solvency. 

• Impose additional certification requirements to allow for quicker removal from the RMD when necessary. Providers should be required to certify that they have not submitted false or misleading information, are in compliance with all applicable FCC robocall rules, and will respond within 24 hours to traceback requests.  

• Require providers to notify their upstream customers and downstream providers of FCC orders and notices. The FCC should require providers subject to an FCC removal order, suspension, or mandatory blocking order to notify their calling customers of the same. It should further allow the downstream providers of the voice service providers subject to such orders to also notify those same customers that their calls will be blocked if they continue to attempt to send their call traffic through that provider that was issued an FCC order. 

• Implement all proposed rules as soon as possible and maintain RMD obligations in the meantime. If the proposals to strengthen the RMD are adopted, the RMD is set to become a reliable tool to help safeguard the communications network against illegal robocalls, making swift implementation crucial. The FCC should also keep in place all obligations that protect against bad actors until reinforced guardrails are implemented. 

Attorney General Bird is part of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which launched Operation Robocall Roundup in 2025.  

In phase 1 of the operation, the task force sent warning letters to 37 smaller voice providers that were allowing suspected illegal robocalls onto the U.S. telephone network. Phase 2 expanded the crackdown to four of the largest intermediate voice service providers in the country.   

Attorney General Bird is joined in signing this letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

Read the reply comments here.  

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For More Information:

Jen Green | jen.green@ag.iowa.gov

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