FCC All In to End Illegal Robocalls, Pai Says

Chairman Ajit Pai said the FCC remains focused on illegal robocalls, consumers’ top interest at the agency. Carriers don’t want “this junk traffic," he told USTelecom Wednesday. Pai said cooperative efforts are working.

“Collaboration that we have had in government with USTelecom through the Industry Traceback Group … disproves any notion that the phrase ‘public-private partnership’ is an empty cliche,” Pai said. “We’ve achieved incredibly concrete results.” Pai said the FCC proposed its largest such fine partly on information from the traceback group (see 2006090044).

The commission is taking “targeted action” against the gateway providers, Pai said. He noted six complied “within 48 hours” of letters from the FCC and FTC in April and May demanding they cut traffic carrying COVID-19 scams originating outside the U.S. (see 2008140037). “It’s really a holistic approach,” the chairman said.

An item for the Sept. 30 commissioners’ meeting moves things forward (see 2009090048), Pai said. The FCC will “make clear what the obligations and deployment deadlines are for various providers with respect to caller ID,” he said. “Providers have to upgrade from non-IP to IP and implement" secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) call authentication by June 30, "or they essentially have to develop a non-IP-based caller ID identification framework … so that their consumers can also benefit.”

USTelecom also remains focused on illegal robocalls, said President Jonathan Spalter. “It’s a big deal for our country. It’s certainly a big deal for our association" and members. USTelecom wants to see the worst offenders “in perp walks and potentially orange suits,” he said. Anti-robocalling efforts are working, Spalter said. Pai understands “we are in a multi-front fight again the scammers,” he said: There's “no silver bullet."

What scares Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) is some scammers use numbers to look like calls are coming from medical facilities. “People will answer it, and then they can get taken in,” Weiser said. “It’s a big priority.”

“Scammers are clever, and they’re going to keep looking for ways to get people to trust them and to share information that people will regret sharing,” Weiser said. In his state, scammers are posing as contact tracers, who ask for a credit card to pay for a test, he said. “It undermines trust in our public health system.” Other scammers use text messages playing on anxiety about the U.S. Postal Service to seek personal information, he said.

DOJ is “absolutely committed to using all tools, both civil and criminal” in investigating often-complex robocall fraud schemes, said Ann Entwistle, Consumer Protection Branch trial attorney. That includes “any voice carriers who are knowingly and intentionally perpetuating these frauds,” she said.

“We’re thrilled to be moving in the direction of restoring faith in voice calls,” said Chris Oatway, Verizon associate general counsel. “It’s a real problem when folks don’t trust their own caller ID.” The “first line of defense” is blocking tools available to consumers, and the FCC has done a good job of “greenlighting” deployment, he said.

“Verizon is all in on blocking on behalf of consumers that don’t want to get certain types of calls,” Oatway said, noting 70 million of its customers are using such functions: “There’s more to come. We’re improving it.” Shaken/Stir is important and Verizon recognized early some providers wouldn’t implement it without a mandate, he said. “That’s crucial to restoring trust in caller ID.”