ACA International has filed its comment with the Federal Communications Commission, arguing that call blocking and labeling technologies are keeping legitimate calls from being connected to consumers, and the association called on the regulator to not allow calls to be blocked until a rule is issued that allows callers to challenge erroneously blocked calls.
The comments are in response to a request from the FCC that sought new insights into how carriers might be empowered to block robocalls from reaching consumers.
While nobody doubts the proliferation of robocalls and nobody would oppose measures that keep their phones from ringing when a robocall is on the other end of the line, the call blocking technologies that some carriers have put in place are either outright blocking some legitimate calls from being connected or labeling other calls as “spam” or “scam likely,” which raises the suspicions of consumers. Carriers have given consumers the right to report calls as scams and are blocking legitimate calls from being connected as a result, without providing procedures for companies, like collection agencies, to challenge those reports.
In a recent survey, 78% of ACA International members reported they have had their calls blocked and 74% have said they have had their calls mislabeled as spam. More than 60% of the respondents reported a decrease in the number of right-party contacts, which could be an unfortunate byproduct of call blocking and labeling technologies.
In its comment letter, ACA International noted three primary themes:
- Consumers are being channeled to block calls without measures in place requiring proper disclosures or provision of sufficient information to allow consumers to make an informed decision about the calls they wish to block.
- Carriers do not notify callers when their calls are blocked.
- Carriers must not be able to block calls until the FCC issues rules for callers to challenge erroneously blocked or mislabeled calls.
ACA International also called on the FCC to take action on several fronts, including:
- Considering mandatory corroboration prior to blocking calls.
- Seeking data from app providers and carriers to assess the criteria used to block and mislabel calls.
- Require carriers to show how they are avoiding false positives.
As ACA International noted in its letter, there are significant constitutional issues at play here.
“We are also working to identify app providers that are characterizing highly legitimate and legal calls with labels such as ‘scam’ or others that are even more injurious. We remain seriously concerned that in some instances these actions are slanderous and inhibiting First Amendment rights.”
