FLORIDA FIRES BACK: Attorney General Proposes Major Anti-Spam Crackdown

On September 17, 2026, Attorney General James Uthmeier proposed the Florida Anti-Spam Communications Act, a proposal aimed at cracking down on phone and text fraud, spoofed numbers, undisclosed AI-generated voices, fake warrants, and even the “phone farms” and “SIM farms” that power high-volume campaigns.

Under the proposal, the Department of Legal Affairs would have independent authority to investigate spam calls and texts and seek injunctions, restitution, and civil penalties. The proposal would also target specific forms of phone and text fraud, including impersonating officials, spoofing numbers, using undisclosed AI voices to obtain money, and sending fake warrants by text or email. High-volume or high-loss cases would be elevated felonies carrying mandatory prison time.

The proposal goes one step further in targeting the infrastructure behind these campaigns by making the possession or importation of a phone farm or SIM farm a felony and designating the equipment as contraband. Commutations providers would also be required to authenticate caller ID, respond to traceback requests and cut off a named unlawful campaign after written notice.

The proposal would also take a preventative approach by requiring the Department of Legal Affairs to run a statewide campaign to educate older Floridians on know how to spot a fake warrant, a spoofed number, and an AI voice—as well as how to report them.

But here is where things get particularly interesting for those of us in TCPAWorld.

While some of these concepts may sound familiar, this proposal would take what we know today one step further. The Truth in Caller ID Act (“TICIDA”) already regulates caller ID and spoofing, while the FTSA requires a person who makes a telephonic sales call to transmit the originating telephone number. AI generated voices are not entirely new territory either. The TCPA prohibits calls using an artificial voice, and the FTSA prohibits intentionally altering a caller’s voice to conceal the caller’s identity. The proposed act, however, would add a more severe enforcement mechanism by treating spoofing a number and using an undisclosed AI voice to obtain money as communications fraud and subjecting high-volume or high-loss schemes to enhanced felony penalties.

As to the communication providers, the FCC currently requires service providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework. The FTSA however, does not contain a similar provision. The proposed act would add a Florida layer to the already existing federal law by expressly requiring providers to authenticate caller ID, respond to traceback requests, and cut off a named unlawful campaign after written notice.

Most notably, the proposal would have significant implications on legitimate businesses and telemarketers when it comes to consent and opt-outs. The FTSA currently gives callers a fifteen day grace period to stop solicitations after receiving a “STOP” request. Similarly, the TCPA requires DNC and consent revocation requests to be honored within a reasonable time, not to exceed ten business days.

The new proposal says Florida’s telemarketing consent law would be “tightened” and the “STOP” requests would have to be honored “within days instead of weeks”. What exactly that means is not clear yet. However, if the goal is to move from “weeks” to days”, the new compliance window would presumably be shorter than the existing fifteen day period.

This could have a huge impact on legitimate businesses and telemarketers as it could create a significant compliance burden. Companies may be forced to identify, process and implement opt-out requests within days, likely requiring additional resources and changes to their existing compliance procedures. How much of a burden that will create will ultimately depend on how many “days” Florida ends up giving businesses and telemarketers to comply. Whether such a short turnaround is doable in practice is a question the attorney general should consider.

For now, whether the Florida Anti-Spam Communications act ultimately becomes law, and what the final statutory language will look like, is still up in the air. As always, we will be watching closely so stay tuned for the latest developments.