Tag Archives: FTSA

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Florida’s AG Wants STOP to Mean Stop, Faster. Outbound Teams Should Get Ready Now.

Florida already has one of the toughest telemarketing laws in the country. Its Attorney General wants to make it tougher. On September 17, 2026, Attorney General James Uthmeier proposed the Florida Anti-Spam Communications Act, a package that would hand his office independent authority to go after spam calls and texts, put new duties on phone carriers and, most relevant to legitimate outbound teams, shorten the time businesses have to honor a STOP request.

No bill text or bill number had surfaced as of late September, so the details could change a lot. But the direction is clear, and if you call or text Florida numbers, it is worth planning for.

What’s in the proposal

Based on the announcement as reported by Spectrum News, WCTV and TCPAWorld, the proposal would:

  • Give the Department of Legal Affairs independent authority to investigate spam calls and texts and seek injunctions, restitution and civil penalties.
  • Target impersonation of officials, caller ID spoofing, undisclosed AI voices used to get money, and fake warrants sent by text or email.
  • Make high-volume or high-loss schemes heightened felonies with mandatory prison time.
  • Make it a felony to possess or import phone farms or SIM farms, and treat that equipment as contraband.
  • Require communications providers to authenticate caller ID, answer traceback requests and stop carrying a named unlawful campaign after written notice.
  • Make selling stolen lists used to target Florida numbers a separate civil violation.
  • Tighten Florida’s telemarketing consent law and require STOP requests to be honored “within days instead of weeks.”

Uthmeier did not soften the message. “You need to go to jail for four or five years if you’re engaging in this kind of sophisticated fraud,” he said, according to WCTV.

Why legit operators should care

Most of this package is aimed squarely at scammers: fake deputies, spoofed toll agencies, SIM farms. You are not running a SIM farm. But two pieces land on everyone.

First, the opt-out clock. Under the current Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, a text-message damages claim generally depends on the consumer replying STOP and the sender continuing to text 15 days after that notice, as TCPAWorld points out, citing Fla. Stat. 501.059(10)(c). Federally, the TCPA requires revocations to be honored within a reasonable time, not to exceed ten business days. “Within days instead of weeks” suggests Florida wants something shorter. TCPAWorld also notes that a faster opt-out duty would not automatically change when a plaintiff can sue. That depends on the final text.

Second, carrier cutoffs. If providers must kill a “named unlawful campaign” after written notice from the state, your traffic’s fate could depend on how carriers identify covered messages. TCPAWorld flags that the response deadline and any process for challenging a mistaken notice are still unknown. A legitimate campaign caught in a sweep is a real business risk.

What to do this quarter

  • Audit your opt-out latency. Measure the time from STOP to suppression across every tool. If it is measured in days, fix it now. Aim for near real time.
  • Clean up caller ID. Make sure your numbers are properly registered and authenticated with your carriers.
  • Know your data sources. The stolen-list provision is a reminder to document where every lead came from.
  • Watch Tallahassee. The actual bill language will decide everything.

Cut the riskiest numbers before you dial

Florida’s FTSA already gives consumers a private right of action, and tighter state rules tend to give plaintiffs new theories to plead. One fast way to cut exposure is to remove the people who sue for a living from your lists before a campaign launches. TCPALitigatorList.com lets teams screen numbers against known TCPA litigators, so a tighter STOP window does not become an expensive surprise.

Bottom line

This is a proposal, not a law. But state AGs set the tone for enforcement, and Florida’s is telling the market that speed on opt-outs and clean caller ID are table stakes. Build for that now and the final bill will be an update, not an emergency.

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