[co-author: Stephanie Kozol]

On May 23, 49 state attorneys general sued Avid Telecom, its owner, and vice president for allegedly facilitating billions of robocalls in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The AGs requested civil penalties and to temporarily and permanently enjoin Avid from transmitting robocalls. This suit comes after group co-leader North Carolina AG Josh Stein formed a nationwide anti-robocall task force that investigates and takes legal action against companies responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic.

Avid sells phone numbers, data, and dialing software to help customers make mass robocalls. According to the lawsuit, between December 2018 and January 2023, Avid sent or attempted to transmit more than 24.5 billion calls. Many of these calls used spoof or invalid caller ID numbers, which sometimes appeared as if the calls came from government and law enforcement agencies — thus further implicating Avid’s facilitation of Social Security and Medicare scams.

Why It Matters

State AGs continue to scrutinize companies that violate telecommunications laws. This latest lawsuit, along with the creation of the nationwide anti-robocall task force, demonstrates the continued bipartisan focus on regulating the telecommunications industry.