MADISON — Attorney General Josh Kaul on August 11 announced Wisconsin’s participation in Operation Robocall Roundup, a multistate effort by the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to crack down on robocalls across the country. The Task Force, a coalition of 51 attorneys general, has sent warning letters to 37 voice providers demanding that they act now to stop allegedly illegal robocalls from being routed through their networks. The task force also sent letters to 99 downstream providers that accept call traffic from these companies.

“Wisconsinites shouldn’t have to receive so many irritating robocalls,” said AG Kaul. “We remain committed to working to decrease the number of these calls.”

Voice providers must comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements related to robocall mitigation, such as responding to government traceback requests, registering in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Databases, or filing a plan that describes how they will reduce illegal robocalls on their network. When companies disregard these rules, robocalls are allowed onto their phone networks and then are passed on to other downstream providers until they reach the phones of consumers. 

Additionally, the FCC announced last week that seven of these providers will be removed from the Robocall Mitigation Database. Once removed, other providers will no longer be allowed to accept and/or route any calls from their networks.  

The Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force was launched in 2022 by 51 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against companies responsible for significant volumes of illegal and fraudulent robocall traffic routed into and across the United States.