The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to help shield you from those unwanted telemarketers and scammers who warn you about fake tax problems or offer too-good-to-be-true vacation packages.
The agency, on a 5-0 bipartisan vote, authorized carriers to automatically identify and block unwanted robocalls by using analytics that home in on sources of large bursts of calls, or place calls of brief duration, or other means. The measure applies to both landline and wireless telephone systems.
“If there is one thing in our country right now that unites Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, socialists and libertarians, vegetarians and carnivores, Ohio State and Michigan fans, it is that they are sick and tired of being bombarded by unwanted robocalls,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said as the FCC prepared to vote. “We hear you and we are on your side.”
Yet experts warn that callers slinging bogus tax bills and insurance schemes might still find a way to get through. Calls originating from overseas could present a technical challenge. And the measures are voluntary: phone companies won’t be required to take advantage of the call-blocking systems that the FCC is encouraging, and could charge consumers fees for using them.
The FCC’s two Democrats said the call-blocking services should be offered for free.
“Robocall solutions should be free to consumers. Full stop,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “I do not think that this agency should pat itself on the back for its efforts to reduce robocalls and then tell consumers to pay up.”
Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, a Republican, said he was concerned about “giving carriers such vast discretion to decide which calls are unwanted.” The power could “lead to wanted calls containing highly pertinent consumer information being blocked,” he said.
The goal is to blunt the onrush of robocalls to home and mobile phones -- 4.7 billion in May, out of roughly 25 billion in the U.S. so far this year, according to an estimate from YouMail, a closely held company that offers call-blocking. YouMail tallied 48 billion robocalls last year, up from 31 billion in 2017.
Robocalls are a top source of consumer complaints at the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission, which manages the national Do Not Call registry that prohibits some sales calls. At the FTC, Do Not Call complaints increased from 3.6 million in 2015 to 7.2 million in 2017 before dropping to 5.8 million in 2018. Each year more than half the calls prompting complaints were classified as robocalls.
Callers are supposed to get prior consent before telephoning landlines with a recorded or artificial voice, or before calling mobile phones with automatically dialed or artificial voice messages, according to the FCC.