Department of Justice Continues to Push to Apply Spoofing Rules to VoIP

As we’ve noted previously, the U.S. Department of Justice has urged the FCC to take an expansive interpretation of the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009. In comments filed last week, the Department continued its effort to have the FCC apply the rules to VoIP providers, including those not subject to any FCC rules today.

In its comments in response to the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Department urged the FCC to adopt rules regulating Caller ID spoofing providers directly. It contends that this authority is rooted in the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 itself and in the Commission’s ​“ancillary” authority over non-common carriers (the same authority at issue in the Comcast net neutrality case). The Department does not explicitly mention non-interconnected VoIP providers or one-way VoIP providers in its comments, but its arguments would extend to any service provider offering spoofing services.

The Department’s comments are available here.