Congress expands robocall protections to all phone lines, not just homes
S. 4307 — Protecting American Consumers from Robocalls Act · Filed by Richard Durbin (D-IL) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill expands the federal Do Not Call rules to protect all telephone subscribers—not just residential customers—from unwanted robocalls and telemarketing calls. It broadens the private right of action (allowing people to sue for violations), tightens the definition of automatic dialing systems to catch more robocall technology, and requires the FCC to update its rules within 270 days.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is straightforward: it removes categorical exemptions ('residential' language) from existing robocall protections and expands the private right of action. This is a direct consumer-protection measure with no hidden riders or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Extending Do Not Call rules to business lines may increase compliance costs for legitimate telemarketing firms, potentially raising prices for consumers who use telemarketing services (though this is likely outweighed by reduced robocall volume).
- The expanded private right of action may generate a wave of class-action litigation against robocallers and their service providers, which could drive some marginal operators out of business but may also create settlement-mill incentives.
- Tightening the definition of 'automatic telephone dialing system' to include 'a list of telephone numbers' may capture some legitimate business-communication tools (e.g., appointment reminders, emergency alerts) if they use pre-compiled lists, requiring FCC clarification in the 270-day rulemaking.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens and small businesses gain stronger legal protections against unwanted robocalls and a clearer right to sue violators. The bill removes a carve-out that previously left business lines unprotected, and tightens the definition of automated dialing systems to close technical loopholes robocallers exploit.
Who stands to gain
- plaintiff's attorneys (class-action and individual robocall litigation)
- call-filtering and robocall-detection software vendors
Named in the bill
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Communications Act of 1934, Section 227(c), Do Not Call Registry
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 2 Independents.
- Apr 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Apr 15, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text: CR S1786)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,413 characters) on Aug 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress expands robocall protections to all phone lines, not just homes” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s4307 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.