States Can’t Restrict Non-Harmful ‘Spoofing,’ Preempted by Federal Truth in Caller ID Act

States cannot enact restrictive anti-spoofing laws that prohibit non-harmful forms of spoofing because the federal Truth in Caller ID Act (TCIA) was meant to prohibit only harmful “spoofing,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held Dec. 10 (Teltech Systems Inc. v. Bryant, 5th Cir., No. 12-60027).

Spoofing is the act of misrepresenting a telephone caller’s identification.

The court, in an opinion written by Judge Rhesa H. Barksdale, held that Mississippi’s Caller ID Anti-Spoofing Act, which prohibits both harmful and non-harmful forms of spoofing, was preempted by the TCIA.

Mark C. Del Bianco, Law Office of ...