June 6, 2019
Background: Today, the Federal Communications Commission approved new rules allowing carriers to implement blocking of illegal and unwanted calls to their customers “by default” and to allow consumers to block calls not on their own contact list.
USTelecom leads the Industry Traceback Group, nearly 30 participants from across the wireline, wireless, VoIP and cable industries that actively traces and identifies the source of illegal robocalls and coordinates with federal and state law enforcement agencies to bring perpetrators to justice.
The following statement can be attributed to Patrick Halley, USTelecom’s Senior Vice President, Policy and Advocacy:
“The FCC took an important step in the robocall wars today by empowering carriers to expand their efforts to block illegal and unwanted robocalls. Greater flexibility for carriers is a win for consumers. The work is far from done, however, and we look forward to working with the Commission and other stakeholders to further incentivize the ongoing industry innovation required to stop the scamming, spoofing and endless aggravation of phone users.”