THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM?: The DO NOT Call Act 2025 Brings Jail Time Back on the Table for TCPA Offenders

A familiar bill is back—again. On December 4, 2025, Rep. David Kustoff reintroduced legislation that could put more teeth into the TCPA by imposing criminal penalties on willful violators. The “Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2025” (DO NOT Call Act)” (DO NOT Call Act), marks the third time a version of this bill has been introduced in Congress. Despite past attempts stalling out, this new iteration might finally have a shot—thanks to more refined language, broader bipartisan support, and a public increasingly fed up with illegal robocalls and spoofed numbers.

TCPAWorld readers might recall our coverage of earlier versions of this legislation. In June 2021 and February 2023, we discussed a near-identical version of the bill. That version, like this one, sought to impose criminal penalties—including up to one year in prison for standard violations, and up to three years for “aggravated offenses” such as making over 10 million illegal calls in a year, targeting victims with more than $5,000 in aggregate losses, or using robocalls to further a felony or conspiracy.

While all three versions of the DO NOT Call Act aim to criminalize certain TCPA violations and raise spoofing penalties, the 2025 bill revises the definition of a “call.” Critically, the definition of a “call” now means messages sent “without the prior consent of the recipient to receive the message,” includes text messages sent via an automatic telephone dialing system, and even includes emergency messages.

Here are the key take aways of the 2025 bill:

Expanded Definition of “Call”:
The 2025 bill defines calls to mean any call or text sent using an automatic telephone dialing system without the prior consent of the recipient to receive the message. Any such “call” can result in criminal liability.

Emergency Numbers Covered:
The new version defines a “call” to include any communication (including texts or voice calls) sent to any phone number under the North American Numbering Plan, including emergency telephone numbers. The prior versions didn’t mention this.

‘(3) Definitions. For purposes of this subsection-

‘(A) the term ‘call’ includes a message or other communication sent to any North American Numbering Plan number, including

an emergency telephone number, that is-

‘(i) initiated to communicate with or attempt to communicate with a person by telephone using an automatic telephone dialing

system or artificial or prerecorded voice; or

‘(ii) a text message sent to a mobile phone using an automatic telephone dialing system-

‘(I) without the prior consent of the recipient to receive the message; or

‘(II) as an emergency message; and

‘(B) the term ‘initiate’, with respect to a call, includes the act of sending, making, or transmitting the call.’.

Same Criminal Penalties Framework:
Each version imposes up to 1 year in prison for standard violations, and up to 3 years for aggravated offenses.

Spoofing Penalties Increased:
All three bills doubled the fines for spoofed caller ID information—from $10,000 to $20,000 per violation.

While previous efforts to pass this legislation have failed—once in the 117th Congress, then again in the 118th—this third attempt may benefit from more support. Co-sponsors now include both Democrats and Republicans, such as Reps. Ross, Moskowitz, Fleischmann, Fitzpatrick, Perez, Panetta, and Strong.

Whether this third time is the charm remains to be seen. Here at TCPAWorld, we’ll be watching closely. It might just have legs—this time for real.

Xoxo

Queenie