TITLE: South Dakota Attorney General Urges Federal Communications Commission to Strengthen Know Your Customer Rules Against Illegal Robocalls
BODY:
On July 28, 2026, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that he joined 49 other state Attorneys General in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its "Know Your Customer" (KYC) rules to prevent scammers from using the U.S. communications network to make illegal robocalls.
The coalition's letter addresses the scale of the robocall problem: Americans received more than 29.6 billion scam robocalls and texts in the previous year, resulting in nearly $2 billion in losses. The Attorneys General are requesting the FCC implement enhanced KYC standards requiring phone companies to verify customer identity and understand their business practices, reputation, history, intended use of services, and compliance with state and federal laws. The coalition urges the FCC to apply these standards uniformly across all originating service providers, regardless of size, as scammers frequently exploit smaller providers to access the communications network. Additionally, the Attorneys General recommend that originating providers collect and conduct long-term monitoring of high-risk customers, particularly those subscribing to high-volume services.
This letter represents the second phase of Operation Robocall Roundup, a multistate litigation task force initiative. Phase 1 launched in August 2025 with warning letters sent to 37 smaller voice providers suspected of allowing illegal robocalls onto the telephone network. Phase 2 commenced in December 2025 and expanded enforcement actions to four of the largest intermediate voice service providers. The coalition includes Attorneys General from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The full letter is available on the National Association of Attorneys General website.