A Democratic bill with 2 Democratic cosponsors · See all 3 cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, known as the "Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2025," aims to modify penalties for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1993. It introduces new criminal penalties, including potential imprisonment and fines, for those who willfully and knowingly violate the act. The bill establishes harsher punishments for aggravated offenses, such as repeat violations or high-volume calling. It also updates the definitions of what constitutes a "call" and "initiate." Additionally, the legislation increases the financial penalties associated with providing inaccurate caller identification information.
Yes· 3 of 7
- Scored +7
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?
The bill increases penalties for inaccurate caller ID and introduces criminal penalties to protect consumers from unsolicited and fraudulent calls.
- Scored +5
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?
The bill enhances privacy by increasing the consequences for violating telephone consumer protections and unauthorized automated communications.
- Scored +4
Does this give people more control over their personal data?
By penalizing unauthorized text messages and automated calls, the bill provides more control over personal communication privacy.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Criminal Penalties for Violations: Criminal penalties including up to 1 year of imprisonment or fines are established for those who willfully and knowingly violate the act (Section 2, subsection a, paragraph 1).
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Harsher Penalties for Aggravated Offenses: Individuals face up to 3 years of imprisonment or fines for serious offenses, such as repeat offenses, high-volume calling (over 100,000 calls in 24 hours, 1,000,000 in 30 days, or 10,000,000 in a year), calls intended to further a felony, or calls causing a loss of $5,000 or more (Section 2, subsection a, paragraph 2).
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Increased Fines for Inaccurate Caller ID: The bill doubles the fine for the provision of inaccurate caller identification information from $10,000 to $20,000 (Section 2, subsection b).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts are explicitly stated in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would high-income households be better off under this? — Increased penalties for large-scale calling operations help mitigate the nuisance and potential fraud targeting high-income households. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Stronger penalties against high-volume calling and fraudulent messages can protect low-income households from telephone-based scams. Would middle-income households be better off under this? — The bill aims to reduce the frequency of unsolicited calls and text messages received by middle-income households. Would people in cities be better off under this? — The bill provides increased protection against mass communication spam that often impacts high-density urban populations.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices? — The bill increases penalties for inaccurate caller ID and introduces criminal penalties to protect consumers from unsolicited and fraudulent calls.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this protect people from being watched or searched? — The bill enhances privacy by increasing the consequences for violating telephone consumer protections and unauthorized automated communications.
- Education And Technology
- Does this give people more control over their personal data? — By penalizing unauthorized text messages and automated calls, the bill provides more control over personal communication privacy.
- 12/4/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- 3 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Kirsten GillibrandDemocrat · New York
Amy KlobucharDemocrat · Minnesota
Angus KingIndependent · Maine