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FCC announces ‘anti-robocall principles’

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Inside the Beltway
Friday, August 23, 2019

In a unified effort to combat the rising number of illegal robocalls targeting consumers, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently voted to adopt a set of key principles for stemming the growing problem.

In addition to FCC, the “Anti-Robocall Principles” have been agreed upon by 12 service providers and attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The increase in robocalls has been linked to increases in the number of debt collectors, telemarketers and fraudsters in recent years, as well as the increased availability of inexpensive software designed to make it easy for companies and individuals to engage in mass calling campaigns, the Associated Press noted in a recent report.

“Scammers don’t care if you’ve added your number to the government’s Do Not Call list, and enforcement is negligible,” the AP report stated. “There are 5 billion per month in the U.S., according to call-blocker YouMail. That works out to 14 calls per person.”

The increase in such calls has led to the introduction of multiple pieces of legislation seeking to curb illegal robocalls and call spoofing.

In addition to clarifying that service providers of both wireless and landline communication devices are permitted to block unwanted calls without a customer’s expressed permission, the FCC indicated that its new principles would give wireless carriers permission to block all callers who not on a customer’s contact list. You would have to request that from your phone company. Consumers will have the option to “opt out,” asking their phone wireless provider not to block anything.

“These principles align with the FCC’s own anti-robocalling and spoofing efforts,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. “Earlier this month, the FCC adopted rules to apply anti-spoofing prohibitions to international robocalls, as called for by many of these same state attorneys general. In addition, we continue to see progress toward adoption of caller ID authentication using SHAKEN/STIR standards. And our call blocking work has cleared the way for blocking of unwanted robocalls by default and of likely scam calls using non-existent phone numbers. The FCC is committed to working together with Congress, state leaders, and our federal partners to put an end to unwanted robocalls.”

The matter of preventing unwanted robocalls has proven to be a bipartisan issue, as it has received support and pushback from both sides of the political aisle.

The Senate passed a bill in May with nearly unanimous approval, proposing to afford phone companies an 18-month deadline for implementation of the SHAKEN/STIR anti-spoof system Pai referenced in his statement. However, there are several other anti-robocall bills awaiting consideration by Congress, some of which propose even stricter measures.  

Other actions the service providers agreed to take to prevent robocalls include:

  • Analyze high-volume voice network traffic to identify and monitor patterns consistent with robocalls.
  • Providers who detect a pattern consistent with illegal robocalls or otherwise find reason to suspect illegal robocalling or spoofing is taking place over its network.
  • Confirm the identity of new commercial VoIP customers by collecting information such as physical business location, contact person(s), state or country of incorporation, federal tax ID and the nature of the customer’s business.
  • For all new and renegotiated contracts governing the transport of voice calls, use best efforts to require cooperation in traceback investigations by identifying the upstream provider from which the suspected illegal robocall entered its network or by identifying its own customer if the call originated in its network.
  • To allow for timely and comprehensive law enforcement efforts against illegal robocallers, dedicate sufficient resources to provide prompt and complete responses to traceback requests from law enforcement and from USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group.
  • Communicate and cooperate with state AGs about recognized scams and trends in illegal robocalling.

Critics have noted that the companies that agreed to abide by the principles would not face legal repercussions for failing to follow through in doing so.

“Failure to adhere to these principles is not in itself a basis for liability nor does adherence to these principles protect or release any party from liability,” the agreement states. “Compliance with these principles does not relieve any party from its duty to comply with state or federal laws and regulations. Adherence to these principles may take time for the voice service providers to plan for and implement.”

The following service providers agreed to the principle terms: AT&T Services, Inc.; Bandwidth Inc.; CenturyLink; Charter Communications, Inc.; Comcast; Consolidated Communications, Inc.; Frontier Communications Corp.; Sprint; T-Mobile; USA U.S. Cellular; Verizon; and Windstream Services, LLC.

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