United States of America: FTC and DoJ file complaint against VoIP Service Providers carrying Robocalls for alleged violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)

On 16 February 2023, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a complaint on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against a range of defendants, including Stratics Networks Inc., Netlatitude Inc., and Kurt Hannigan, for providing and implementing technology to initiate unwanted Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and ringless voicemail (RVM) debt service robocalls in order to telemarket various goods and services, including debt relief services. In particular, the complaint alleges that Stratics’ services were used to run an illegal robocall campaign making misrepresentations on debt relief services to consumers in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The FTC seeks injunctions and monetary relief and penalties.