April 30, 2019
Stopping the plague of illegal robocalls is a serious issue for consumers and our USTelecom member companies, industry partners, and folks at the FCC, FTC, and state Attorneys General offices investing time and resources to fight back.
HUNTING DOWN ILLEGAL ROBOCALLERS
- USTelecom leads the Industry Traceback Group (ITG), comprised of nearly 30 participants from across the broadband industry.
- By sharing information on illegal robocalls, ITG actively hunts down the perpetrators, no matter where they are hiding – even if they are overseas.
- ITG shares this information with law enforcement so they can bring illegal robocallers to justice.
- And we’re succeeding in finding more bad actors faster than ever before, and helping to bring them to justice. Last year, the FCC said the efforts of ITG reduced the amount of time necessary to conduct a traceback investigation from start to finish “from months to weeks.”
DEPLOYMENT OF CALL AUTHENTICATION STANDARD SHAKEN/STIR
- A broad range of voice providers are already deploying a new caller authentication standard across their networks called SHAKEN/STIR to restore trust to the callerID system.
- When SHAKEN/STIR is fully implemented, consumers will have more useful information available when they decide whether (or not) to answer a call.
- A long list of companies have publicly committed to deploy the standard in their networks this year.
- And while these companies compete vigorously in the marketplace, they’re working together to guide the deployment of the SHAKEN/STIR standard.
BLOCKING ILLEGAL CALLS AND DEPLOYING CONSUMER PROTECTION TOOLS
- USTelecom members are deploying powerful tools that block and label illegal calls and put consumers in control of their phones again.
- Consumers today have more choices than ever before.
- USTelecom members are partnering with services that protect consumers from robocalls (and these services work across wireless, IP and traditional copper networks).
Our list is long, our challenges significant, and much work remains to be done.
The bottom line: with industry innovators and government joining forces, our civil and criminal enforcement apparatus ramping up, and media taking notice, expect more steady progress against robocallers in the months ahead.
USTelecom is committed to working with government and industry stakeholders to ensure aggressive civil and criminal enforcement against illegal robocallers and provide call-blocking solutions to consumers.
Check out out Robocalls Action Center and Industry Traceback Group for more information.
We have released a series of resources to help consumers protect themselves from unwanted calls:
Infographic: Safety on the Line
Protecting Yourself from Illegal Robocalls
Protecting Yourself from Spoofing
Protecting America’s Senior Citizens
Not All Robocalls are Illegal
America’s broadband providers are committed to protecting consumers from illegal robocalls.