Federal Trade Commission's ongoing investigation into robocalls

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, federal courts in California ordered two Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers to turn over information that the agency is seeking as part of ongoing investigations into potentially illegal robocalls. 

Companies that fail to comply with such federal court orders can be held in contempt.

“Companies that receive FTC Civil Investigative Demands must promptly produce all required information,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. 

“These demands are not voluntary. Companies that don’t respond fully, or don’t respond at all, will have to answer to a federal district court judge, as these cases demonstrate.”

VoIP service providers are companies that facilitate the transmission of telephone calls over the Internet. As billions of illegal telemarketing calls and robocalls pass through VoIP service providers each year, the FTC has worked to ensure they do not transmit illegal calls – especially those coming from overseas.

The Commission frequently issues Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to VoIP service providers that carry potentially illegal calls to collect important information to help stop the calls, including information about the company’s customers and efforts to comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rules.

More information here