The Arkansas State Senate has voted in favor of a measure which would make robocalling with a recognizable, but phony number a felony. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is responsible for the initiation of this legislation.
Robocalling is a form of automated phone calling.
If made illegal, faking a phone number could be punished with up to six years in prison and a fine of $10,000. In addition, private telecommunication firms would have to work to prevent this behavior.
A further motivation to outlaw falsified phone numbers is that callers can be reported to the FCC if a valid phone number is given.
In 2016, a federal judge overturned an Arkansas law which forbade political robocalling that had been in place since 1981. The law was overturned on the grounds that it violated the constitutional right to free speech. Then, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge also defended the law, stating that it protected Arkansans from intrusive, unwanted calls.
