Brazil Senate committee approves bill to block unwanted telemarketing calls

The Senate's Committee of Transparency, Supervision and Control (CTFC) approved a substitute bill (PL 2.616/2025) aimed at curbing unsolicited telemarketing and debt‑collection calls. The proposal creates a unique telephone registry – the Cadastro Único Telefônico – to be regulated and overseen by Anatel. Companies must delete from their databases the numbers of consumers who request blocking, store each exclusion request electronically, and are prohibited from using masked numbers or short auto‑dial calls. Violations can attract fines of up to 50,000 reais.

The measure was approved terminatively, meaning it will bypass a Senate plenary vote unless appealed, and will now proceed to the Chamber of Deputies. Senator Laércio Oliveira (PP‑SE) served as rapporteur, while Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PSB‑MA) authored the bill. If enacted, the law will take effect 360 days after publication, with a phased rollout of the new rules.