The Federal Communications Commission today voted unanimously to let wireless carriers automatically block unwanted robocalls for their subscribers unless they opt out, despite some businesses' outcry that this could make it harder to reach customers.
The volume of calls has kept rising despite federal efforts to rein them in.
Nearly 48 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. last year, YouMail estimates.FCC Chairman Ajit Pai noted robocalls remain by far the commission’s top complaint and said battling the nuisance is a top priority. "My message to the American people today is simple: we hear you and we are on your side," he said going into today's vote.
Pai also kickstarted a regulatory process to start gathering public input on whether the FCC should require phone companies to authenticate calls to make sure they're really coming from the number that pops up on caller ID. Scammers and other robocallers often use so-called "spoofed" numbers to make a call seem like it's coming from a local number or even a legitimate caller like the IRS.
The telecom industry is currently working to voluntarily adopt a set of technology standards for authenticating calls. But Pai reiterated a threat to regulate if phone companies don't have the tech in place by the end of this year.
"To date I have been pleased by the progress industry has made" toward the year-end goal, he said. "But in case it isn’t, the FCC will not hesitate to take regulatory action."
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine