WASHINGTON—New efforts to combat illegal and unwanted robocalls have been outlined by Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
“Unwanted robocalls are not only a nuisance, but they also pose a serious risk to consumers who can inadvertently share sensitive, personal information in response to bad actors’ malicious schemes,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “I’m proud to unveil my first set of actions to put a renewed focus on what the FCC can do to combat the issue that we receive the most complaints about. I believe closer coordination within the agency and between federal and state partners can help in addressing this consumer epidemic…We certainly haven’t and we’re coming for you.”
The Steps Taken
According to the FCC, the agency’s anti-robocall actions include:
- Issuing a $225 million fine to Texas telemarketers – the FCC's largest fine in history – for illegally spoofing roughly one billion robocalls in an attempt to sell short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans
- Delivering cease-and-desist letters to six voice providers that have consistently violated FCC guidelines on the use of autodialed and prerecorded voice message calls with infractions spanning COVID-19 scams, imposter IRS and Social Security Administration calls, credit card fraud
- Launching a Robocall Response Team, which is a group of 51 FCC staffers across six bureaus and offices tasked with coordinating and implementing the commission's anti-robocall efforts
- Working to renew partnerships to combat robocalls with the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and the National Association of State Attorneys General