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Utah A.G. Brown Pushes FCC to Strengthen 'Know Your Upstream Provider' Rules to Combat Illegal Robocalls
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 12 -- Utah Attorney General Derek Brown issued the following news:
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Attorney General Brown pushes FCC to strengthen "Know Your Upstream Provider" rules to combat illegal robocalls
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Attorney General Derek Brown and a bipartisan coalition of 48 other attorneys general are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its "Know Your Upstream Provider" (KYUP) requirements to keep scammers from using the U.S. phone network to make illegal robocalls. KYUP rules require voice service providers to accept calls only from legitimate,
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 12 -- Utah Attorney General Derek Brown issued the following news:
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Attorney General Brown pushes FCC to strengthen "Know Your Upstream Provider" rules to combat illegal robocalls
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Attorney General Derek Brown and a bipartisan coalition of 48 other attorneys general are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its "Know Your Upstream Provider" (KYUP) requirements to keep scammers from using the U.S. phone network to make illegal robocalls. KYUP rules require voice service providers to accept calls only from legitimate,responsible providers, not wave through the bulk of illegal traffic instead.
"Every annoying robocall you receive is supposed to be checked by a cell phone provider whose job it is to know who they are doing business with. Increasingly, that critical check is not happening, and the bad actors know it -- and exploit it," said Attorney General Brown. "We want the FCC to make this check more robust, make the penalties real, and make it much harder for these bad actors to hide."
A phone call travels through a series of phone companies before it reaches your phone, and the FCC requires each voice service provider to take reasonable measures to vet the companies that originate and route those calls. Some skip that step, letting illegal robocalls onto the network. Last year, Americans received more than 29.6 billion scam robocalls and texts and lost nearly $2 billion to these scams.
The attorneys general ask the FCC to:
* Mandate baseline KYUP measures. Require providers to collect detailed, verified information from their upstream provider customers, vet those providers' compliance more thoroughly, monitor them regularly, and cut off any that break the law.
* Add triggers for KYUP monitoring. Providers now generally review an upstream provider only at contract signing or renewal, or on evidence of illegal activity. The FCC should require monitoring more regularly, so bad actors cannot operate unchecked.
* Strengthen STIR/SHAKEN protections. Under the anti-spoofing framework, the FCC should ensure every provider knows and meets its caller ID authentication obligations, and that everyone responsible for verifying a call's true origin applies the rules the same way.
* Move quickly and add teeth. Implement new rules as soon as possible, set base penalties for providers that fall short, and require providers to retain KYUP data so law enforcement and attorneys general can use it in future investigations.
Attorney General Brown is part of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which launched Operation Robocall Roundup in 2025. In phase 1, the task force sent warning letters to 37 smaller providers for failing to meet baseline FCC mandates. Two weeks ago, the FCC ordered six of them to fix their robocall failures or risk losing the ability to route calls nationwide. In phase 2, the task force expanded the effort to four of the country's largest intermediate providers and pushed the FCC to tighten its Know Your Customer rules.
Attorney General Brown is joined in signing this letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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Original text here: https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/attorney-general-brown-fcc-robocall-rules/
S.D. A.G. Jackley Statement on 25th Anniversary of 9/11
PIERRE, South Dakota, Sept. 12 -- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Marty Jackley Statement on 25th Anniversary of 9/11
Sept. 11, 2026
PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued this statement on today's observance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11:
"We will never forget the horrors of 9/11, but we will remember the lives lost and the heroic response of law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders who rushed into the fire to save others.
We also remember those brave citizens who stood up against
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PIERRE, South Dakota, Sept. 12 -- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Marty Jackley Statement on 25th Anniversary of 9/11
Sept. 11, 2026
PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued this statement on today's observance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11:
"We will never forget the horrors of 9/11, but we will remember the lives lost and the heroic response of law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders who rushed into the fire to save others.
We also remember those brave citizens who stood up againstterrorism. We honor them and their loved ones today and every day."
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Original text here: https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=3149
S.D. A.G. Jackley Announces DCI Investigation Into Edmunds County Commission Candidate Referred to Department of Revenue
PIERRE, South Dakota, Sept. 12 (TNSida) -- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Jackley Announces DCI Investigation Into Edmunds County Commission Candidate Referred to Department of Revenue
PIERRE, S.D. -- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) conducted a review into discrepancies involving Juliane Burgod's nominating petition for county commission in Edmunds County and her owner-occupied tax status. DCI's role was to determine whether a false or forged document
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PIERRE, South Dakota, Sept. 12 (TNSida) -- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Jackley Announces DCI Investigation Into Edmunds County Commission Candidate Referred to Department of Revenue
PIERRE, S.D. -- South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) conducted a review into discrepancies involving Juliane Burgod's nominating petition for county commission in Edmunds County and her owner-occupied tax status. DCI's role was to determine whether a false or forged documentmay have been filed in connection with an election. The findings from that review have been forwarded to the South Dakota Department of Revenue for its consideration regarding the owner occupied status of one of the listed addresses.
The matter was referred to the Attorney General's Office by Edmunds County State's Attorney Vaughn Beck, who reported that the candidate's petition address appeared to conflict with the address listed for her owner occupied tax status.
South Dakota Codified Law 7-8-2 requires that county commissioners be registered to vote within the district in which they are nominated.
Beck requested DCI's involvement because of a conflict of interest related to Burgod's potential position as a county commissioner.
Attorney General Jackley emphasized that DCI's review was limited solely to the potential filing of a false or forged document as it pertained to an election and was unrelated to any agricultural project or policy issue. After completing its review, DCI transferred the materials to the Department of Revenue for further examination under South Dakota's Owner-Occupied tax classification laws.
"As Attorney General, I remain committed to ensuring the integrity of our elections," said Attorney General Jackley. "To categorize DCI's involvement in this matter as anything other than preserving the legitimacy of our elections is simply untrue."
Neither the Attorney General's Office nor DCI has any pending action involving Ms. Burgod. Because the issue appears to be one of owner-occupied tax status rather than election fraud it has been referred to the Department of Revenue that maintains that jurisdiction.
The Attorney General's letter to Ms. Burgod can be here: https://atg.sd.gov/docs/Edmonds%20County%20Investigation%209.10.2026.pdf
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INFODOC: https://atg.sd.gov/docs/Edmonds%20County%20Investigation%209.10.2026.pdf
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Original text here: https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=3150
N.J. A.G. Davenport Welcomes Resolution of AmeriCorps Lawsuit
TRENTON, New Jersey, Sept. 12 -- New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport issued the following news release:
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AG Davenport Welcomes Resolution of AmeriCorps Lawsuit
TRENTON - Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors, has reached a settlement that bars the Trump Administration from seeking to cut almost all funding from the AmeriCorps program again without warning.
The deal resolves a 2025 lawsuit filed in response to the Administration's repeated attempts to gut the nation's volunteer service programs. Previously, as a
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TRENTON, New Jersey, Sept. 12 -- New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport issued the following news release:
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AG Davenport Welcomes Resolution of AmeriCorps Lawsuit
TRENTON - Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors, has reached a settlement that bars the Trump Administration from seeking to cut almost all funding from the AmeriCorps program again without warning.
The deal resolves a 2025 lawsuit filed in response to the Administration's repeated attempts to gut the nation's volunteer service programs. Previously, as aresult of the lawsuit, the Trump Administration was forced to reinstate nearly $400 million in terminated AmeriCorps programs and agreed to release over $184 million in funds to service programs in across the country. The cuts prevented by the lawsuit had threatened the survival of those programs--including more than $6.6 million in funds for AmeriCorps programs in New Jersey. This settlement protects the funding and participants of those programs for fiscal year 2026 as well.
"AmeriCorps members are indispensable to organizations across New Jersey, working as critical volunteers in our communities," said Attorney General Davenport. "While this disruption never should have happened in the first place, I am pleased that by uniting together, states were able to not only stop these unannounced and drastic cuts to these important programs, but also to take steps to prevent this from happening again."
In New Jersey, AmeriCorps members support a wide variety of programs, including recovery programs for individuals who have experienced addiction, educational programs for adults learning English, academic mentoring programs for children with special needs, maintaining parks and green spaces in urban areas, and disaster recovery and relief programs.
AmeriCorps supports national and state community service programs by funding and placing volunteers in local and national organizations that address critical community needs. Organizations rely on support from AmeriCorps to recruit, place, and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide.
In April 2025, the Trump Administration moved to eliminate nearly 90% of AmeriCorps' workforce, cancel its contracts, and close $400 million worth of AmeriCorps-supported programs. The coalition states sued and in June 2025, a federal court granted the states' motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the administration to reinstate programs that had been unlawfully canceled. Then in August 2025, following a further motion for preliminary injunction by the coalition, the federal Office of Management and Budget agreed to release more than $184 million in AmeriCorps funding it had withheld.
Now, under the terms of this settlement, AmeriCorps states that moving forward it does not anticipate that, during fiscal year 2026, it will terminate grants on a large scale as it did in spring 2025, conduct reductions in force of union employees beyond certain previously planned cuts, or dismiss a large number of AmeriCorps service members. Should AmeriCorps take any of those actions, or make a material change to its delivery of volunteer services, it must provide the coalition states with written notice at least 30 days in advance and identify the legal authority under which it is taking the action.
AmeriCorps has also agreed to commit substantially all of its fiscal year 2026 funding by September 30, 2026, and to administer its National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and AmeriCorps VISTA programs in accordance with the federal statutes that govern them. Under the settlement, AmeriCorps may not disrupt the current terms of service of NCCC or VISTA participants, except under specific, lawful circumstances detailed in the settlement.
The settlement pauses the litigation through February 1, 2027, at which point the states will voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice, provided AmeriCorps has complied with its commitments. Should the states determine that AmeriCorps has not complied, they may move the court to lift the stay and resume litigation. The states also retain the right to challenge other unlawful conduct by AmeriCorps, whether through an amended complaint during the stay or a new action during or after the stay.
Attorney General Davenport was joined in the settlement by the attorneys general of Maryland, California, Colorado, and Delaware, which co-led the coalition, along with Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Joint Motion to Stay (http://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-0910_0228-Joint-Motion-to-Stay.pdf) | Settlement Agreement (http://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-0910_FINAL-AmeriCorps-Settlement-Agreement.pdf)
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Original text here: https://www.njoag.gov/ag-davenport-welcomes-resolution-of-americorps-lawsuit/
N.H. A.G. Formella Pushes Federal Government to Strengthen 'Know Your Upstream Provider Rules' to Combate Illegal Robocalls
CONCORD, New Hampshire, Sept. 12 -- New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Formella Pushes Federal Government to Strengthen 'Know Your Upstream Provider Rules' to Combate Illegal Robocalls
Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella announces that he and a bipartisan coalition of 48 other attorneys general are pushing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its "Know Your Upstream Provider" (KYUP) requirements to help prevent scammers from using the U.S. phone network to make illegal robocalls. KYUP rules require
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CONCORD, New Hampshire, Sept. 12 -- New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Formella Pushes Federal Government to Strengthen 'Know Your Upstream Provider Rules' to Combate Illegal Robocalls
Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella announces that he and a bipartisan coalition of 48 other attorneys general are pushing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its "Know Your Upstream Provider" (KYUP) requirements to help prevent scammers from using the U.S. phone network to make illegal robocalls. KYUP rules requirevoice service providers to ensure that they receive calls from legitimate and responsible providers and do not regularly pass through lots of illegal calls.
"Illegal robocalls are more than a nuisance, they are a gateway for scammers to steal money and personal information from New Hampshire families. The companies that provide access to our nation's telephone network have a responsibility to know who they are doing business with, monitor their networks and take action when those networks are being abused," said Attorney General Formella. "New Hampshire is part of a multistate effort that is already producing results, but we cannot let up. We are urging the FCC to strengthen these safeguards, hold bad actors accountable, and make it harder for scammers to reach consumers in the first place."
Virtually every New Hampshire resident is harassed by illegal robocalls. Increased verification requirements are good for legitimate providers and help ensure the U.S. telecom system is not being used for nefarious purposes.
Phone calls get routed through a series of phone companies before they reach your phone. The FCC requires all voice service providers to take reasonable measures to vet the phone companies that originate and route calls. However, some voice service providers fail to do so, allowing illegal robocalls onto the U.S. communications network. Last year, Americans received more than 29.6 billion scam robocalls and texts and lost nearly $2 billion to these scams.
The attorneys general are asking the FCC to strengthen voice service providers' obligation to vet their upstream provider customers, and to require the same scrutiny and diligence of the entities involved in the implementation of STIR/SHAKEN, which is the framework developed to prevent caller ID spoofing.
In addition to what the FCC is already doing, the attorneys general urge it to:
* Mandate five categories of baseline KYUP measures. The attorneys general are asking the FCC to demand that voice service providers collect more detailed--and verified--information from their upstream provider customers. The attorneys general also urge the FCC to require voice service providers to more thoroughly vet upstream providers' compliance with FCC rules, monitor those upstream providers regularly, and refuse or end service to upstream providers that aren't following the law.
* Require additional triggers for KYUP monitoring. Right now, a voice service provider generally monitors or reviews information about, or the conduct of, their upstream provider customers when they are entering into or renewing an agreement with the upstream provider, or when they receive evidence that an upstream provider may be breaking the law. The attorneys general argue that the FCC should require upstream provider monitoring more regularly to help prevent bad actors from operating unchecked.
* Strengthen STIR/SHAKEN protections. STIR/SHAKEN is a framework to ensure that a caller is placing calls from phone numbers that are not being spoofed. The FCC should ensure that providers are aware of and comply with their caller ID authentication obligations, and that these rules are being followed and applied similarly to and by everyone with responsibility for making sure that a call is really coming from the number a consumer sees as the caller ID., regardless of where they are in the path of a call.
* Implement new rules quickly, establish enforcement penalties, and require retention of KYUP data. The attorneys general ask that any rules to help cut down on illegal robocalls should be implemented as soon as possible. They also support base penalties for providers that don't meet upstream provider monitoring requirements or violate STIR/SHAKEN. They are also asking the FCC to require voice service providers to collect and retain data related to KYUP verification and monitoring, so that these data will be available to law enforcement or attorneys general for future investigations.
Attorney General Formella is part of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which launched Operation Robocall Roundup in 2025. In phase 1 of the operation, the task force sent warning letters to 37 smaller voice providers that were disregarding their obligations to mitigate the origination and transmission of illegal and/or suspicious robocalls by failing to comply with certain baseline mandates from the FCC. Just two weeks ago, the FCC issued an order to six of those companies, ordering them to fix their robocall protection issues or risk losing the ability to route any calls across the U.S. telephone network.
In phase 2, the Task Force:
* Expanded its crackdown to four of the country's largest intermediate voice service providers.
* Pushed the FCC to strengthen its Know Your Customer rules to require phone companies to verify who is making calls using their networks and what kinds of business their customers are conducting.
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Original text here: https://www.doj.nh.gov/news-and-media/attorney-general-formella-pushes-federal-government-strengthen-know-your-upstream
Attorney General Bonta, County of Santa Clara Secure Early Win in Lawsuit to Block Illegal Construction of ICE Facility Near Gilroy
SACRAMENTO, California, Sept. 12 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Bonta, County of Santa Clara Secure Early Win in Lawsuit to Block Illegal Construction of ICE Facility Near Gilroy
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OAKLAND -California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the County of Santa Clara late yesterday secured a preliminary injunction blocking the illegal construction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County near Gilroy, California. In June 2026, Attorney General Bonta and the County of Santa
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SACRAMENTO, California, Sept. 12 -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following news release:
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Attorney General Bonta, County of Santa Clara Secure Early Win in Lawsuit to Block Illegal Construction of ICE Facility Near Gilroy
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OAKLAND -California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the County of Santa Clara late yesterday secured a preliminary injunction blocking the illegal construction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County near Gilroy, California. In June 2026, Attorney General Bonta and the County of SantaClara filed a lawsuit challenging the construction of this facility, which the federal government pursued without required environmental review or consultation with state and local governments. ICE subsequently agreed to pause construction until September 9, 2026. Yesterday's order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California continues to halt construction and asks the parties to meet and confer and submit a proposed order by September 30, 2026 on the scope of the injunction.
"No one is above the law -not even the federal government," said Attorney General Rob Bonta. "The Trump Administration tried to rush construction of this facility in secret, ignoring environmental safeguards and shutting out the communities that would bear the consequences. This ruling sends a clear message: California will hold the federal government accountable and protect our communities, our environment, and the rule of law."
"We're hopeful the court's ruling sends a clear message that this is the wrong process and the wrong place for this facility," said County Counsel Tony LoPresti. "The federal government's legal violations concealed fundamental flaws with this project -you can't plop a facility like this onto sensitive land that lacks basic infrastructure to support the detention of individuals. We're proud to stand with Attorney General Bonta in fighting this battle, and we're honored to support an immigrant community that has been under constant assault by an Administration that is all too willing to proceed without regard for the law."
BACKGROUND
In January 2025, the federal government leased a 24.5-acre parcel of unincorporated land near Gilroy, California from a private developer for use by ICE as a likely Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) holding facility. From there, the federal government moved to build out the site rapidly and without transparency -bypassing required environmental review and failing to consult with state or local governments at any point. The construction of the facility threatens to cause the release of hazardous materials and disrupt the ecosystem, habitat, and agricultural value of land that the county and the state have protected for exclusively agricultural uses since the 1960s. The project is also likely to have severe impacts on vital infrastructure, overwhelming a septic system designed for much smaller use.
Attorney General Bonta and the County of Santa Clara filed a lawsuit and a motion for a preliminary injunction in June 2026, arguing that the development of this facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and California's Williamson Act. Yesterday's decision on the motion for a preliminary injunction finds Attorney General Bonta and the County of Santa Clara are likely to succeed in the litigation and halts construction of the facility pending further instruction by the court.
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Original text here: https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-county-santa-clara-secure-early-win-lawsuit-block-illegal
Ariz. A.G. Mayes Files Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Against L'Oreal USA
PHOENIX, Arizona, Sept. 12 -- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued the following news release on Sept. 11, 2026:
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Attorney General Mayes Files Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Against L'Oreal USA
PHOENIX - Attorney General Kris Mayes announced today that the Arizona Attorney General's Office has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against L'Oreal USA, Inc., its parent company, and Softsheen, for the advertisement and sale of chemical hair relaxer products without disclosing that the products contained likely carcinogens, or had otherwise been linked to an increased risk of cancer, including ovarian
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PHOENIX, Arizona, Sept. 12 -- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued the following news release on Sept. 11, 2026:
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Attorney General Mayes Files Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Against L'Oreal USA
PHOENIX - Attorney General Kris Mayes announced today that the Arizona Attorney General's Office has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against L'Oreal USA, Inc., its parent company, and Softsheen, for the advertisement and sale of chemical hair relaxer products without disclosing that the products contained likely carcinogens, or had otherwise been linked to an increased risk of cancer, including ovarianand uterine cancers.
Chemical hair relaxers are a highly alkaline, hydroxide-based class of products, which work to straighten spiral-shaped keratin molecules. Chemical hair relaxers do this by breaking and reforming the disulfide bonds that form the hair's spiral structure. These relaxers contain categories of chemicals that are toxic, or that lead to the formation of toxic compounds when applied to the scalp under customary and/or foreseeable use. These include endocrine disrupting chemicals ("EDCs"), phthalates, parabens, and other chemicals classified by federal and international agencies as known or probable human carcinogens.
Multiple epidemiological studies demonstrate that women who use these toxic chemical hair relaxers have a significantly higher risk of developing uterine and ovarian cancer, as well as other hormonal cancers like thyroid and pancreatic cancer.
"L'Oreal knew or should have known about the dangers associated with these toxic hair straightening products," says Attorney General Kris Mayes. "Yet, instead of warning their consumers, they put profits over the safety of women and children. That is unacceptable and we will hold them accountable for it."
These products were primarily marketed to African American women, and some were even marketed to children.
If you believe you have been the victim of consumer fraud or unfair practices, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office at www.azag.gov/consumer. If you need a complaint form sent to you, you can contact the Attorney General's Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.
A copy of the complaint (https://us.list-manage.com/_tPYKRMnN8O?e=9153ff6c96&c2id=9a759fc70c6d734a91a2647ef652fab2) is available.
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Original text here: https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mayes-files-consumer-fraud-lawsuit-against-loreal-usa
