The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unveiled new rules cracking down on robocalls, requiring phone companies’ assistance.
The FCC has been working to address robocalls, a growing problem for American consumers. Beyond simply being an annoyance, many robocalls are designed to take advantage of the unsuspecting, scamming them out of private information, money or both. Even legitimate, non-commercial, robocalls can be a nuisance when there are no limits on the volume.
“Americans are sick and tired of unwanted and illegal robocalls, and today’s separate actions are like a one-two punch to ward them off,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Today, we are putting much needed limitations on robocalls to our homes, and taking additional steps regarding call blocking that will yield significant improvements for consumers.”
The new rules tackle robocalls normally exempted from existing robocall regulation, such as those from tax-exempt organization, political calls and market research. The FCC will now “limit the number of exempted calls to three calls to any residential phone from any caller within any consecutive 30-day period. Previously, there was no limit on the number of non-telemarketing robocalls that any caller could make to a residence. Callers are also now required to allow consumers to opt out of these calls.”
In addition, the FCC will require telcos to do more to crack down on robocalls on their own networks, and cooperate with the FCC and law enforcement efforts to identify the source of robocalls.
The rules will likely be welcomed by consumers who are sick of being harassed.