48 States, D.C. Sue Avid for ‘Facilitating’ Illegal Robocall Traffic on Its Network

VoIP service provider Avid Telecom “chose profit over running a business that conforms to state and federal law” by “assisting and facilitating” illegal robocall traffic on its network, alleged 48 states and the District of Columbia in a complaint Tuesday (docket 4:23-cv-00233) in U.S. District Court for Arizona in Tucson.

Avid received more than 329 notifications from the USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group (ITG) putting it on notice that it was transmitting illegal robocalls, said the complaint. The illegal robocall traffic across Avid’s network persisted despite the 329 notifications, plus additional letters and correspondence from the ITG about needing to improve its “traffic screening procedures,” it said. Avid could have chosen “to implement effective and meaningful procedures to prevent -- or even significantly mitigate -- the perpetration of illegal behavior” onto and across its network “but chose not to do so,” it said.

The complaint alleges violations of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Avid didn’t immediately comment.