A new anti-robocall deadline went into effect last week and the Federal Communications Commission issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to take additional steps to block robocalls from being connected with consumers as the fight against robocalls continued.
First, as of September 28, phone companies are prohibited from accepting calls from providers that have not filed for STIR/SHAKEN certification or filed a detailed mitigation plan with the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database. As of the deadline, 4,798 companies had filed plans with the Robocall Mitigation Database, according to the FCC. That includes all of the largest phone carriers and “many hundreds” of other carriers, the agency said.
For voice service providers that have not filed their plans in the database, their calls must be blocked from being connected by intermediate and other voice service providers.
“The FCC is using every tool we can to combat malicious robocalls and spoofing – from substantial fines on bad actors to policy changes to technical innovations like STIR/SHAKEN,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in a statement. “Today’s deadline establishes a very powerful tool for blocking unlawful robocalls. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect consumers against scammers who flood our homes and businesses with spoofed robocalls.”
To further prevent robocalls from being connected, the FCC has also proposed placing “new obligations” on voice service providers that are the point of entry for foreign robocalls being made to U.S. consumers. Those providers will have to apply for STIR/SHAKEN authentication and put the same requirements on foreign-originated calls as those made domestically.
“We’re going to stop these nuisance calls before they reach our homes and businesses in the United States,” Rosenworcel said. in a statement
