Bipartisan Coalition of 52 Attorneys General Send USTelecom Letter Outlining Plan to Strengthen Illegal Robocall Enforcement

This letter marks approximately eight months since fifty-one state attorneys general and twelve leading voice service providers (“VSPs”) promulgated the Anti-Robocall Principles (“Principles”) in order to more effectively combat the unwanted and illegal robocalls inundating the American people. The collaboration reflected in the Principles is intended to halt the onslaught of such calls and to “aid the State Attorneys General in identifying and prosecuting illegal robocallers.” The state attorneys general and telecom industry participants also supported efforts by the U.S. Congress to enact the TRACED Act, which focuses on tracing illegal robocalls in addition to other sweeping anti-robocall measures.

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State AGs Support Amendment to Communications Decency Act

In 2013 and again in 2017, Attorneys General from virtually every state and territory wrote to inform Congress of a damaging misinterpretation and misapplication of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) that rendered state and local authorities unable to enforce criminal laws against companies that actively profited from the promotion and facilitation of sex trafficking and crimes against children. To be sure, we are grateful for all the work you have done to protect the vulnerable among us. To bootstrap your efforts, we renew our recommendation for a modest but necessary amendment to the CDA. We must enable our state and local authorities to protect our citizens, including the most vulnerable among us, and to take appropriate action against criminal actors.

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AGs Send Policy Guidelines to Streaming Industry to Combat Youth Tobacco Use

Given the recent significant rise in tobacco use by young people, particularly the use of e-cigarettes, preventing initiation and use of tobacco products is of critical importance to us and the public health community, and we sincerely hope it will be addressed by the streaming industry.

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Attorneys General Raise Concern About Illegal Alcohol Sales Online

Social media and digital platforms have become interwoven into the fabric of our society. Consumers have become increasingly dependent on the broad access to goods for sale through these mediums. Unfortunately, the near unlimited access to goods has increasingly exposed consumers, including minors, to unlicensed sales of alcohol and counterfeit products. We are seeking your assistance to address some of the challenges to consumer protection associated with online marketplaces and to improve the legitimacy of these sales.

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