FCC Adopts New Robocall Mitigation Database Filing Requirements, Fees and Fines

The Federal Communications Commission is enhancing its Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) compliance obligations and increasing base forfeiture amounts for RMD violations. The FCC’s new rules follow a recent Enforcement Bureau Order that directed nearly 2,500 RMD filers to cure deficiencies in their filings following prior expanded RMD filing requirements.

The new requirements and revised penalties include:

Maintain Up to Date Information in CORES. Changes to company information (such as entity name, contact name and title, address, email address, taxpayer identification number) must be updated in CORES within 10 business days.

Annual Certification and Filing Fees. On or before March 1, recertify the accuracy of RMD submissions.

• • Initial Filing and Annual Recertification Fee – $100.
  • FCC Red-Light Rules will apply to RMD filings – Applications and other requests from entities that owe fees to the FCC will not be processed until all RMD fees are paid.

Forfeitures. The FCC increased the base forfeiture for submitting false or inaccurate information to the RMD and established a new base forfeiture for failure to update information in the RMD.

• • $10,000 base forfeiture per violation for submitting false or inaccurate data.
  • $1,000 base forfeiture for failure to update information within 10 business days of a change.

New Portal to Allow for Reporting of Deficient Filings. The FCC will create a dedicated portal for outside parties to report suspicious filings for review.

• • The Wireless Competition Bureau (WCB) will issue a Public Notice when the Reporting Portal opens.

Security of the RMD. To prevent access by unauthorized users, the WCB will develop a two-factor (or more) authentication process for accessing the RMD.

Effective Dates

Base forfeiture fines will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The requirements related to CORES database updates and annual recertifications will become effective after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completes its review.

The new RMD filing fees will take effect after the FCC publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of the fee rules.

If you have questions about the Robocall Mitigation Database, or STIR/SHAKEN in general, contact an attorney in our Broadband, Spectrum, and Communications Infrastructure or Privacy, Data Protection, and Cybersecurity practice groups.