Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is publicly pushing the FCC to do more to combat robocalls and spam texts.

He issued a press release Friday urging action, pointing out that in July alone there were almost six billion robocalls and over seven billion spam texts, from those car warranty come-ons to COVID-19 tracing impersonators, his office said.

Blumenthal, chair of the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee, suggested the Federal Communications Commission needed to do more consumer protecting on that front.

He called on the FCC to “strengthen anti-robocall laws, require phone carriers to block illegal marketing, and bring enforcement action against those behind the schemes,” including by swiftly implementing the STIR/SHAKEN protocol, a set of federal authentication rules intended to week out unwanted robocalls.

The senator did praise “initial actions” taken by the FCC and signaled the problem definitely preceded the current acting FCC chair, Jessica Rosenworcel. “Years spent waiting is billions of dollars lost to fraud,” Blumenthal said.

Back in May, the FCC did vote unanimously to shorten the deadline for some smaller voice providers to use the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID regime.

And to the issue of unwanted texts, Blumenthal said: “I urge the FCC to use all of its authorities, including investigations, rulemaking, and enforcement, to address unwanted text messages, send a deterrent message to marketers, and identify technical solutions.”

The FCC has voted unanimously to shorten the deadline for some smaller voice providers to use the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID regime, meant to weed out unwanted robocalls, but smaller cable operator voice providers want to make sure the FCC isn't casting a too wide net.

The FCC said that some new evidence suggests that a "small subset" of smaller voice service providers were responsible for an "increasing quantity" of illegal robocalls.

The FCC set a June 30, 2021 deadline for most voice service providers, including larger cable operators, to implement STIR/SHAKEN, but gave smaller providers—fewer than 100,000 subs—more time.

Also Read: FCC Fleshes Out STIR/SHAKEN

But in a vote at its Thursday (May 20) public meeting, the commission said it would shorten that by a year (June 2022) for smaller providers "which originate an especially larger amount of traffic."

"We recently discovered that some smaller companies are pumping large volumes of traffic onto our networks and a lot of it looks suspiciously like robocalls," said FCC acting chair Jessica Rosenworcel. "It’s time to change course.  So here we propose to cut back on the extension for smaller providers that are sending these junk calls. Implementing STIR/SHAKEN—and doing it faster as we propose here—will help reduce robocalls over time."

The FCC sought comment on how to best define that subset that poses "a heightened risk of originating an especially large amount of illegal robocall traffic," as well as whether it should do more to improve oversight of the smaller providers it identifies as requiring the shortened deadline.

ACA Connects, which represents smaller providers, said it will keep an eye on the proceeding going forward to make sure the FCC is aiming at the right target.

“ACA Connects represents small voice providers that have an established presence in their communities and take their obligations seriously," said Brian Hurley, ACA Connects VP of regulatory affairs. "We intend to participate in this proceeding to ensure it remains squarely focused on the correct target – the 'subset' of providers responsible for originating large volumes of illegal robocalls – and that it avoids sweeping in ACA Connects members and other legitimate providers that are not the source of this problem.”

Comcast, too, has a message for the "vehicle owner." 

Comcast has announced deployment of STIR/SHAKEN-based robocall protection to its 11 million residential and business landline voice customers. 

When receiving calls, these customers will now be able to see a “V” in their caller ID, verifying that the call is actually coming from the displayed number and not some spammer who is spoofing the ID. 

Comcast reported over 9.6 million Xfinity Voice residential customers at the end of 2020, down about 39,000 year over year, and nearly 1.4 million business voice subscribers, up about 16,000. 

The cable company has been working on STIR/SHAKEN technology for several years and says the time is right to deploy it against the backdrop of an estimated 46 billion robocalls received nationwide just in 2020 alone. In fact, citing YouMail data, Comcast said the average U.S. consumer receives 350 spam calls a year. 

“Comcast engineers helped pioneer STIR/SHAKEN and the company has been a leader in the industry-wide effort to combat fraudulent calls since day one,” said Kelly Barlow, senior VP of connectivity services for Comcast, in a statement. “We’ll continue to enable our customers with the tools to protect themselves and partner within the industry to help rid the nation’s consumers of these dangerous calls for good.”

NCTA-the Internet & Television Association is urging the FCC not to remove an exemption from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for calls that are for a commercial purpose but do not “include or introduce an advertisement or constitute telemarketing," as at least one commenter has suggested.

That is according to an NCTA meeting with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks this week. 

Also Read: FCC Adopts Robocall Safe Harbors

The FCC is seeking advice on how to better crack down on unwanted calls--specifically how to implement the TRACED Act, and that advice has included limiting the number of commercial, non-telemarketing calls, to residential numbers. But NCTA says its informational calls serve a variety of pro-consumer, and in this case pro-subscriber, purposes including confirming orders and appointments, customer-requested call backs, service outage notifications, potential fraud notifications and other notifications it says are "unquestionably beneficial to the subscriber." It says cable operators have no incentive to make any more such calls than are necessary and that other service businesses--FedEx is one of them--share its concerns.

Also Read: Broadband Association's Push for Robocall Safe Harbor

NCTA says the FCC should reject any proposal to set a limit on such non-telemarketing calls--one commenter suggested limiting non-telemarketing calls to "one time per event"--or requiring companies to allow customers to opt out of them, as has also been suggested.

"Allowing customers to opt out from receiving these vital communications could unduly interfere with a cable operator’s ability to provide its customers with information that is critical to the proper functioning of the service they are purchasing," NCTA said. 

The association also says limiting the number of calls could have First Amendment implications.

Also opposing new limits on informational robocalls are the American Bankers Association, American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management, American Financial Services Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, National Council of Higher Education Resources, the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, and the Edison Electric Institute, which represents all investor-owned electric companies.

The FCC is levying an almost $10 million fine for spoofed robocalls targeting a California state election.

The Enforcement Bureau forfeiture ($9,997,750 to be exact) against Kenneth Mosther for unlawfully altering caller ID info (spoofing) was announced and approved unanimously at the FCC's Nov. 18 virtual public meeting.

The calls had been referred to the FCC by the California Secretary of State.

The FCC said the spoofer made over 47,000 calls to spread misinformation about the campaign.

While the other commissioners passed on meeting statements on the enforcement action, commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel suggested more such actions may be needed.

She pointed out that, in this case, "one week before a state primary [in 2018], this robocall campaign featured allegations about sexual assault by a candidate that ultimately resulted in the accuser pleading guilty to making a false report of a crime."

She said the fine had her full support, but that it was not the only election-related robocall campaign that needed the FCC's attention. "Just two weeks ago there were reports that millions of robocalls were also using spoofed numbers to spread misinformation in advance of the November election," she said. "[I]f these calls ran afoul of the tools we have to protect consumers—like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Truth in Caller ID Act, and TRACED Act—this agency needs to
act.

The FBI has been investigating a robocall in advance of the election with some variation of the message: "Stay home and stay safe." While it did not mention the election, but the campaign struck some as smacking of voter suppression.

The FCC has voted on new rules implementing the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication regime meant to weed out unwanted robocalls. At the same time it dropped the item from its Sept. 30 public meeting agenda.

The new rules: "1) require voice service providers to either upgrade their non-IP networks to IP and implement STIR/SHAKEN, or work to develop a non-IP caller ID authentication solution"; 2) "require intermediate providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN so that IP calls retain caller ID authentication throughout the call path"; and 3) "prohibit carriers from adding a line item to the bills of consumers and small businesses for caller ID authentication technology."

Related: FCC Adopts STIR/SHAKEN Regime

STIR/SHAKEN is the default protection against identity spoofing and malicious robocalls by verifying a caller ID before the call gets to the recipient. The regime applies to IP voice service.

The FCC initially voted to allow and encourage carriers to block unverified IDs by default using STIR/SHAKEN, but then mandated it. The service must be free. In addition, Congress voted in December 2019 to mandate the regime, giving carriers 18 months after passage to have it in place--a June 2021 deadline.

The FCC has confirmed that some COVID-19-related calls and texts fall under an exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) protections against unwanted robocalls. 

In a clarification issued Tuesday (July 28), the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said that robocalls and texts made "on behalf of commercial labs, health insurers, physicians, and pharmacies (health care entities)" that communicate that people have tested positive for COVID-19 and give them information and [give them] info on donating plasma fall under a TCPA "emergency exception" and don't require prior express consent.

The emergency exception applies to calls made affecting the health and safety of consumers, and clearly the COVID-19 testing calls fill the bill. But the bureau reiterated that calls containing advertising and telemarketing services or attempt to collect debt, "even if such debt arises from related health care treatment."  

The FCC has approved two safe harbors for carriers who have been directed by the FCC to provide call blocking for unwanted robocalls before those calls reach consumers.

One safe harbor is for carriers who inadvertently block wanted robocalls reasonably expected to be unwanted, and the other is for voice providers that block bad actors upstream that fail to mitigate illegal traffic after being warned by the FCC that the traffic is bad.

Related: FCC Tells Robocallers No More Warnings

The commission also approved a Further Notice seeking input on further implementation of the TRACED Act, Congress' mandate to the FCC to provide robocall blocking, something it was in the process of doing.

The FCC makes clear that the robocall blocking has to be free to consumers, something the TRACED Act requires.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai said that the item makes clear that carriers' mistaken blocking of wanted calls must have been based on reasonable analytics tied to the STIR/SHAKEN authentication regime.

The item requires that providers make all reasonable efforts not to block calls from public safety answering points (PSAPS) and that they never block 911 calls.

“We welcome and applaud the FCC’s decision to provide safe harbor protection for voice service providers," said Chris Shipley, attorney and policy advisor for INCOMPAS. "Call blocking in a highly complex environment raises the risks of anticompetitive behavior, but the FCC’s measured and incremental approach to safe harbors strikes the appropriate balance between meeting the statutory obligations of the TRACED Act and providing voice service providers with assurances that good faith call blocking will not result in liability.”

“We applaud the FCC for its continued work to help the industry and law enforcement combat unwanted and illegal calls by further implementing the TRACED Act," said AT&T EVP Joan Marsh. "We look forward to continuing to work with the Commission on this effort as we build on the anti-robocall tools and services we offer our customers, which includes AT&T Call Protect, our free call blocking and labeling tool currently used by millions of customers, and has blocked billions of suspected fraudulent calls.”

“We support the Commission's order adopting a safe harbor for certain types of robocall blocking by voice service providers," said NCTA-The Internet & Television Association. "The new safe harbor will facilitate the ability of cable operators to satisfy the demands of consumers to be protected from unlawful and unwanted robocalls.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has named the members of the FCC's new Hospital Robocall Protection Group that, as its name suggests, was created to advise the FCC on combating robocalls to hospitals.

Commissioner Brendan Carr will represent the FCC and Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips will represent the Federal Trade Commission. Officers will be Dave Summitt of the Moffitt Cancer Center, chairman; Patrick Halley of USTelecom, vice chair.  

For a full list of members, click here  

The first meeting, via videoconference, will be July 27, and available for public viewing online at https://www.fcc.gov/general/live. Questions from the public can be submitted to livequestions@fcc.gov. 

“Robocalls can interfere with the critical life-saving work of hospitals and healthcare facilities and their dedicated front-line staff,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. “I am exceedingly grateful to this devoted group of Americans who are committing their time, knowledge, and efforts to the Hospital Robocall Protection Group to help safeguard our nation’s critical healthcare system, especially during this unprecedented pandemic."

Dealing the Trump Justice Department a loss, the Supreme Court has upheld the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), affirming an appeals court decision that the government cannot exempt calls to collect government debts from the TCPA, which was added to the Communications Act by Congress in 1991 to combat unwanted telemarketing calls. 

Related: Supremes Hear Robocall Case 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had found that the TCPA with its government-debt exception (which was added in 2015) was an unconstitutional content-based speech restriction. But it also followed traditional severability principles, which means the underlying bill could stand while the government debt-collection exception fell. 

Related: FCC to Robocalls: No More Warnings

The Trump Administration had challenged that appeals court decision, arguing that there was a compelling government interest in collecting the debts. Such a compelling government interest is one of the tests a speech regulation has to pass if it is to clear the "strict scrutiny" bar for regulation of speech. 

The Justice Department argued that the government debt-collection exemption favored not one type of speech but one type of economic activity, but that did not pass muster. 

"Six Members of the Court today conclude that Congress has impermissibly favored debt-collection speech over political and other speech, in violation of the First Amendment," said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who delivered the decision. 

Three of the justices would have upheld the government debt exception--Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Justice Sonya Sotomayor would have found the exception unconstitutional even under intermediate scrutiny. 

“The Court rightly found that government debt collectors aren’t entitled to a special exception to the TCPA’s ban on robocalling..." said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), one of the original authors of the TCPA, and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). They have been trying to repeal the government debt exception legislatively. “The Court’s decision followed commonsense principles: Americans don’t want to be harassed by robocalls, and Congress has the authority to stop abusive calls.

"The case for the TCPA has only become clearer since it became law nearly thirty years ago, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle continue to recognize that blocking these invasive calls is a national priority. Today’s decision preserves the TCPA’s ability to protect Americans from countless unwanted robocalls every year, every day, and indeed every hour and minute."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai applauded the decision.  

“The Telephone Consumer Protection Act has long shielded Americans from unwanted robocalls, but the Obama Administration in 2015 snuck in a carve-out for federal debt collectors," said the chairman. "I opposed that decision because, as I said at the time, the federal government should not bestow ‘regulatory largesse upon favored industries such as federal debt collectors,' and I called on Congress to reverse course. 

“Thanks to the Supreme Court, that carve-out is no more. Today, the Court found that the last Administration’s attempt to create a special exemption for favored debt collectors was not only bad policy but unconstitutional. I am glad to hear that Americans, who are sick and tired of unwanted robocalls, will now get the relief from federal-debt-collector robocalls they have long deserved.” 

“We applaud the Supreme Court for protecting consumers from robocalls. Whether through voice, text or email, it’s critical to protect consumers from unwanted messages and maintain the integrity of communication platforms for Americans," said CTIA senior VP Nick Ludlum.

The FCC said that, thanks to efforts by the commission and voice service providers, including cable operators, robocall blocking tools are now "substantially available to consumers." It also signaled it will give carriers a liability carveout from mistakenly blocking calls. 

The FCC has just released its initial call blocking status report. 

Trying to stem the tide of billions of unwanted robocalls is one of the FCC's prime directives these days, with consumers and members of Congress definitely rooting for success. Commission Democrats are also rooting for more of the hefty fines the FCC has levied to actually make it into the Treasury. 

The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau created the staff report on "the deployment and implementation of call blocking and caller ID authentication."  

“Tools are available today to help consumers block robocalls, spoofed calls, scam calls, telemarketers, and other unwanted calls,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai in a statement. “I am glad to see that this analysis shows that many call blocking tools are available today for free or at little cost to consumers. We will continue to prioritize the protection of consumers from scams and unwanted robocalls.” 

Cable industry efforts have included implementing the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework, which was urged by the FCC, then mandated by Congress, as well as call-blocking options from Comcast, Cox, and Centurylink from the appropriately named third-party company, Nomorobo. 

STIR/SHAKEN (sometimes referred to by the more James Bond-like SHAKEN/STIR) was developed by industry to determine if a call was spoofed. 

Elsewhere on the robocall front, Pai said this week that the FCC would be voting on an order that would give voice providers a safe harbor from liability for inadvertent call blocking based on a reasonable assumption the call should have been blocked, something cable ops and others had been seeking, as well as the ability to block calls from robocall facilitators like the ones the FCC has been cracking down on. 

The order would also seek comment on "whether to obligate originating and intermediate providers to better police their networks against illegal calls, as well as to require terminating providers []like cable ops] to provide information about blocked calls to consumers at no charge." 

The FCC has voted unanimously to propose a $225 million fine against a Texas-based health insurance telemarketer for approximately one billion spoofed illegal robocalls, the largest fine in the FCC's history. 

The vote came at the FCC's June 9 public meeting, held via video conference, which was also unprecedented--the previous socially distanced public meetings had been via teleconference. 

The fines are against John C. Spiller and Jakob A. Mears under various business names including Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom. 

The one billion calls came in only four-and-a-half months or early 2019 and were made on behalf of clients selling short-term health insurance plans. 

Spiller allegedly admitted to the Trace Back Group, the USTelecom backed group looking to ferret out illegal calls, that he specifically targeted numbers on the Do Not Call list. 

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel supported the fine, but also pointed out that despite a series of fines, almost no money has been collected to date. She said the FCC looked to the Department of Justice to do so, and lamented that there was a "whole of government " effoprt in not only fining but collecting.  

The Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday, Barr [attorney general] v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, held appropriately by teleconference, that could determine the fate of the robocall-restricting Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). 

A lower court threw out a 2015 exception to the TCPA for automated debt collection calls by the government, but preserved the overall TCPA. A political speech group took the opportunity to challenge the TCPA cell phone call ban generally, saying it impinged on political free speech and that it is the restriction, not the exception, that should be struck down. 

Related: FCC to Robocalls: No More Warnings

The Supremes agreed to hear the appeal, as they often do when a federal law is struck down by a lower court. If the High Court decides that the exception is, indeed, invalid, it could also rule that it is not severable from TCPA and invalidate the latter as well. 

The case includes issues of suppression of First Amendment speech and privacy, which the Justices probed during the hour-plus argument, the third in its COVID-19-prompted teleconference oral arguments being streamed live.  

“Today’s arguments made clear that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is now, more than ever, an essential law that protects consumers from countless unwanted robocalls every year," said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who filed a brief with the court in support of the TCPA. "Without such protections, these calls would intrude on Americans’ privacy, put them at risk of costly scams, and undermine confidence in the nation’s telephone networks. If the Supreme Court were to invalidate the TCPA, Americans would experience a tsunami of robocalls and constant bombardment of their mobile devices that could render them effectively useless. After hearing today’s arguments, we are confident the Court will uphold this important statute.” 

The FCC has ended its historic practice of warning "most" robocallers before issuing penalties for breaking the law of harassing consumers with unwanted calls. No more. 

Such warnings were required, but no longer are after the TRACED Act passed Congress last December. 

Related: Reps. Push FCC, DOJ to Go After COVID-19 Roboscammers

“Robocall scam operators don’t need a warning these days to know what they are doing is illegal, and this FCC has long disliked the statutory requirement to grant them mulligans,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai.  

He said removing the "outdated warning" requirement helps in the FCC's ongoing effort to crack down on spoofing, including mandating the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication and allowing for default robocall blocking. 

The FCC has also extended the statute of limitations for fines for spoofing and violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) from a maximum of two years to four. It also increases the maximum fines--an additional $10,000 per call--for intentional robocall violations.

The FCC and Federal Trade Commission have teamed up to a trio of VoIP 'gateway providers' they said are allowing scam COVID-19 robocalls from overseas to flood an anxious public's phones. 

Reps Push FCC to Crack Down on COVID-19 Robocalls 

FCC chairman Ajit Pai and FTC chairman Joseph Simons said that if those gateway providers, who were identified by a consortium of phone companies managed by USTelecom, don't stop that flow of scam calls now, carriers can--and should--start blocking all their traffic.  

“When it comes to scam robocalls, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. These phone companies need to cut off this traffic and protect consumers from these scams," said Pai. "The choice is simple: Move forward as responsible network providers or see themselves cut off from the phone system." 

Related: DOJ Asks Court to Stop VoIP Providers From Facilitating Scam Robocalls 

Saying they had been working with the Department of Justice, the FCC and FTC said that if those scammer gateways don't comply within 48 hours, other phone companies can begin blocking all their traffic. 

“The FTC will not stand for illegal robocallers that harm the public, particularly in the middle of a health crisis,” said Joseph Simons. “These warning letters make clear that VoIP providers who help illegal robocallers prey on fears surrounding the Coronavirus are squarely in our sights.” 

Getting the warning letters--from both the FCC's Enforcement Bureau and FTC Consumer Protection Bureau, were VoIP providers SIPJoin of Suffolk, Va.; Connexum of Orange, Calif.; and VoIP Terminator/BLMarketing of Lake Mary, Fla. 

The letters cite one offer of a nonexistent COVID-19 “free test kit” for COVID-19, with calls originating in the Philippines, and a second offer of HVAC cleaning services to "fight COVID-19," with the calls originating in Pakistan. 

The FCC has made a big push to crack down on illegal robocalls 

The bipartisan leadership of the House Communications Subcommittee is pressing the FCC to use the power Congress gave it to crack down on illegal robocallers in the age of COVID-19 scammers. 

Related: FCC Adopts Mandatory STIR/SHAKEN Regime 

In a letter to FCC chair Ajit Pai and Attorney General William Barr, Subcommittee chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and ranking member Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), praised the FCC's steps to implement the TRACED Act--the FCC voted last week to mandate the STIR/SHAKEN default caller ID regime mandated by the act--but urged them to make sure that implementation included taking all actions necessary to prevent the bogus virus test and other roboscams. 

"The TRACED Act gives the FCC and DOJ new and expanded tools and authorities to combat illegal robocalls," they said.  

They pointed out that the Act directs the Chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau--in this case Rosemary Harold--to provide any evidence the bureau obtains on willfully and repeated robocall violations "with an intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, to the attorney general." 

They said that combined with the boost to a $10,000-per-call fine should be a strong deterrent. 

They urged them to "go after" the COVID-19 roboscammers "aggressively." They want to know what steps both Barr and Pai are taking in that direction by April 4. 

The FCC is launching a Hospital Robocall Protection Group and soliciting nominations for membership. 

The group will advise the FCC on ways to combat unwanted robocalls to hospitals, which is apparently an issue. 

"The idea that robocallers would clog up hospital phone lines with a flood of nuisance calls seems unthinkable, but it is a reality,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “Health care facilities are critically important, especially in the face of the current pandemic, and the last thing they should have to worry about is receiving robocalls that distract from performing their mission—supporting the health and well-being of all Americans." 

The FCC is looking for nominations ASAP, but no later than May 1. 

The co-authors of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act have called on the FCC and Justice Department to do all they can to prevent coronavirus robocall scams, including using the new powers conferred by the act. 

That came in a letter Monday (March 23) from Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and John Thune (R-S.D.). The FCC is planning next week to consider an item mandating default scam robocall blocking by carriers. 

FCC Releases Agenda for March Meeting 

They told FCC chairman Ajit Pai and Attorney General William Barr that the calls are themselves a dangerous threat to the public, citing a Washington Post report that about a million "suspicious" calls are being placed per day. 

"Robocalls that spread misinformation about cures, peddle ineffective equipment, and offer bogus medical advice have the potential to inflict significant harm on individuals and communities across the country," they wrote. 

They are particularly concerned about the elderly, who are both the most susceptible to the scams, even more so because they are the vulnerable population when it comes to succumbing to the disease.

Markey and Thune want to know by April 2 what steps they will take to address the "scourge."

The FCC has released its tentative agenda for the March 31 public meeting and it includes proposals to 1) mandate the STIR/SHAKEN default robocall blocking technology, 2) adjust the methodology for significantly viewed station, 3) revising program carriage dispute resolution rules, 4) and adjust FCC rules to "facilitate next generation TV. 

FCC chair Ajit Pai has circulated all those items for commissioner review before the meeting. 

1) The STIR/SHAKEN (formerly the more James Bondlike "SHAKEN/STIR") item is a report and order and further notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would "adopt rules requiring originating and terminating voice service providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework in the Internet Protocol portions of their networks; and (2) [in the FNPRM] propose additional measures to combat illegal spoofing, including measures to implement portions of the TRACED Act.

The item follows Congress' mandate in the TRACED Act that STIR/SHAKEN be made mandatory, and would set a June 30, 20201 deadline in alignment with the legislation. It would also extend STIR/SHAKEN to intermediate access providers. 

The FCC has already voted unanimously to allow carriers to block robocalls by default via STIR/SHAKEN, but had made it voluntary.  

2) The "Amending Distributed Transmission System Rules to Facilitate Next Generation TV" is an NPRM that seeks comment on whether to modify the Commission’s rules "governing the use of distributed transmission systems by broadcast television stations."  

The item would seek comment on amending the FCC's rules to allow DTS signals, which use multiple transmission sites in a market to boost a station's signal, to extend beyond a station's authorized service area by more than a de minimus amount. The National Association of Broadcasters and America's Public Television Stations petitioned the FCC for the change. 

It would also seek input on the impact of the change on translator and LPTV stations. 

3) "Defining Significantly Viewed Local TV Stations" is an NPRM seeking comment on "whether to update the methodology for determining whether a television broadcast station is 'significantly viewed' in a community outside of its local market. 

The syndicated and network programming on an out-of-market TV station imported into a local market must be deleted per syndicated and network exclusivity rules, unless the FCC determines that out-of-market stations also has significant viewership in that market. 

The item seeks comment on, among other things, whether Nielsen or some other methodology should be used to determine "significantly viewed" status and whether terminology, like "independent station" or partial network station" should be updated given changes in the marketplace. 

4) "Revising Program Carriage Rules and Part 76 Review Procedures" is an FNPRM and NPRM – seeking comment on "whether to modify the Commission’s rules governing the resolution of program carriage disputes between video programming vendors and multichannel video programming distributors." 

The item would seek comment on, again among several other things, whether to modify the time limit requirements for filing program carriage complaints to "clarify that it applies only in circumstances where there is not an existing program carriage contract or contract offer and a defendant MVPD has denied or failed to acknowledge either a request for program carriage or a request to negotiate for program carriage." 

The Department of Justice for the first time has filed a civil complaint to try to stop telecom companies from knowingly abetting fraudulent robocalls, all of which calls were made over the internet. It is looking to end hundreds of scam millions of robocalls per month costing consumers hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The Department has filed two civil actions asking a court to prevent what they call is the wire fraud being committed by VoIP providers. The first defendant is Ecommerce National LLC d/b/a TollFreeDeals.com; SIP Retail d/b/a sipretail.com; and owner/operators, Nicholas Palumbo, 38, and Natasha Palumbo, 33, of Scottsdale, Arizona. The second case involves Global Voicecom Inc., Global Telecommunication Services Inc., KAT Telecom Inc., aka IP Dish, and owner/operator, Jon Kahen, 45, of Great Neck, New York.   

Separately, a federal court has already entered a temporary restraining order against the Global Voicecom defendants. 

Justice called the VoIP providers "gateway carriers" for hundreds of millions of scam calls, and warned other telecoms that if they knowingly facilitate such scam calls, it will go after them as well.  

There was no FCC involvement in the DOJ press conference announcing the crackdown. Asked about that absence, given that the FCC has made a big push to crack down on scam robocalls, a DOJ official said that while the FCC has been a good partner with Justice on a range of elder fraud issues, it was a "fast acting" matter that it was able handle with the help of the Social Security Administration and Postal Service, but that it had not worked specifically with the FCC 

The calls they facilitated came mostly from India and cost U.S. residents hundreds of millions of dollars, said Justice, appearing to be coming from government agencies like the IRS and immigration services, and threatening deportation, freezing of assets, and other consequences if consumers didn't pony up the money, which many did, including seniors. 

Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Civil Division said that if they obtain the court relief--a temporary restraining order--the behavior will be enjoined, but that there is as yet no criminal complaint.  

Hunt would not speculate on what might happen to the individuals involved, but Justice would seek to recover lost funds or restitution. "We're not taking anything off the table," in terms of further action, Justice said, but added that the civil actions were the fastest way to try and stop the calls. 

DOJ said the telecom industry in general has been a helpful partner in trying to stop such schemes, and that one of the reasons that they are conifdent the defendents knew the calls were scams was that AT&T and USTelecom took substantial meaasures to try and call out the schemes to put these entities on notice. It also said they had been warned by law enforcement.  

Justice said using VoIP made it easy for the companies to facilitate the scam calls, and to carry a "substantial" number of calls, which appears to be a substantial part of their businesses. 

The House has voted overwhelmingly to approve the bipartisan TRACED Act, a Senate bill (S. 151) that would crack down on unwanted robocalls. The vote was 417-3. 

The bill has already passed the Senate so it now heads to the President's desk. 

Caller ID and spam blocking app Truecaller released a report this week that showed spam robocalls were up fivefold in 2019, up from 7% of spam calls to 35%. 

Among other things, the bill would give the FCC civil fining authority of up to $20,000 per call for those who "intentionally flout" telemarketing restrictions. That could add up given that, by some estimates, spam calls make up over 40% of all calls. It would also extend the statute of limitations for taking action against illegal robocalls from one year to three.  

The bill would help punish bad actors--the FCC could seek financial penalties for misleading calls--and verify good calls, said its backers. It would also require carriers to provide default blocking at no extra cost. 

Related: Cable Ops Oppose Default Robocall-Blocking Mandate 

The compromise bill was introduced last month 

The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act combines (and reconciles) the TRACED Act, which passed the Senate in May, and the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which incorporated five robocall bills, and passed the House in July. 

Specifically, according to Energy & Commerce, the bill:

• "Requires carriers to offer call-authentication technology to consumers and small businesses—in rural and urban America—at no additional charge;
• "Requires opt-in or opt-out robocall blocking be offered at no additional charge to consumers;
• "Gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to step up enforcement actions against unlawful robocalls with a longer statute of limitations and increased fines in certain cases;
• "Pushes the Department of Justice to bring more criminal prosecutions against criminal robocallers;
• "Requires the FCC to work to stop one-ring scams;
• "Helps the FCC and responsible carriers traceback and cutoff suspect phone companies that are responsible for sending vast numbers of unlawful robocalls; and
• "Protects patients, doctors and hospitals from unlawful robocalls."

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee that has principal oversight of the issue, said the bill provided meaningful solutions and was a great piece of legislation. (The Thune in the bill's name is John Thune [R-S.D]). 

"This is important legislation because unlawful robocalls are not only a nuisance," said Pallone, "they are also undermining our entire phone system and consumers' safety as a result. Too often Americans simply will not pick up their phones, out of fear that a robocall is on the other end of the line."

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), ranking member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, called it a good bill, though warned that scammers would try to do an end-around carrier efforts to stop them, so it was good that the bill included reports back to Congress on what else might be needed. 

“Here’s why the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act is a massive achievement and a landmark consumer protection bill: It supercharges the technology and traceback tools we know will cut down the illegal robocalls that are hijacking our phones and polluting our communications networks," said USTelecom president Jonathan Spalter. "The robocall battle won’t be won overnight, but today consumers notched a big victory against a determined enemy." 

“Robocalls have been flooding our phones for years, causing many Americans to even stop answering their phones," said NCTA-The Internet & Television Association. "We applaud House passage of the TRACED Act, and commend the bipartisan leadership of Senator Thune and Congressman Pallone for passing legislation that protects consumers from this daily aggravation. The TRACED Act is an important step to help alleviate Illegal robocalls and keep consumers safe from scammers.”

"I applaud the House for passing the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act," said Competitive Carriers Association president Steven K. Berry. "All carriers care about providing their customers with trusted voice communications and I commend Congress for taking steps to implement effective call authentication programs that address this overwhelming consumer complaint."

“ACA Connects is pleased that Congress has reached a bipartisan consensus on legislation to protect consumers from unwanted and illegal robocalls," said ACA Connects President Matt Polka. "ACA Connects members are eager to bring relief to their customers from the torrent of nuisance calls and scams, and to that end," Polka said. "ACA Connects is pleased that the bill takes into account the unique implementation challenges facing smaller providers. With the bill now headed to the Senate, we look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to bring an end to the robocalls scourge.”

House Energy & Commerce Committee leadership said Friday that they have come up with bipartisan, bicameral, legislation to combat unwanted robocalls.

The FCC is on the same page and a parallel track with various initiatives and fines for illegal robocalls, but it is one of the key constituent issues on the Hill so legislators want to put their own stake in that turf.

Signing on to the compromise bill are Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), Energy & Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), and ranking member Bob Latta (R-Ohio).

Related: Cable Ops Oppose Default Robocall-Blocking Mandate

“Today, we are proud to announce that we have come to an agreement in principle on legislation, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, to combat the robocall epidemic that we believe can be signed into law by the President,” they said in a joint statement. “It’s time to put Americans back in charge of their phones. Our agreement will require telephone carriers to verify calls and allow robocalls to be blocked in a consistent and transparent way, all at no extra charge to consumers. The agreement also gives the FCC and law enforcement the ability to quickly go after scammers. We look forward to finalizing the bill text in the coming days.”

The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act will combine (and reconcile) the TRACED Act, which passed the Senate in May, and the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which passed the House in July.

The FCC under chairman Ajit Pai has made cracking down on unwanted calls, that number in the many billions annually, one of his signature issues. That includes clarifying that carriers can block robocalls by default and incentivizing them to add the feature at no extra charge.  

The FCC is under pressure from Congress to help consumers weed out unwanted robocalls--for one thing, legislators keep pointing out that they get such calls during hearings about how to stop them.

“Help is on the way! Thank you to these Congressional leaders for coming together to provide critical new tools to fight back against the robocall criminals scamming consumers and polluting our networks," said USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter. "This is a powerful shot in the arm to our technology driven traceback and verification work and will go a long way in helping take back our phones.”

AT&T has made it official. It is now offering default robocall blocking to its subs at no extra charge, expanding its existing AT&T Call Protects regime.

The FCC recently clarified that carriers are allowed to automatically block calls before they reach subs, so long as those subs have a chance to opt out. It did not mandate that the service be free, but signaled that if carriers tried to charge, it was ready to lower that boom on a fast track.

Related: Congress Boosts FCC Robocall Blocking Authority

New customers will get the anti-robocall service by default, while millions more existing customers will have it automatically added over the "coming months."

“The FCC has been a tremendous partner in the war on robocalls,” said Joan Marsh, executive VP of regulatory and state external affairs for AT&T Communications. “The Commission’s recent action builds on a year's-long effort to enable broader adoption of call-blocking tools and allow providers to better protect their customers and networks. AT&T remains committed to working with our government and industry partners in the ongoing battle against unwanted and illegal robocalls.”

The announcement comes two days before the FCC is scheduled to hold a day-long seminar on the industry's implementation of the SHAKEN/STIR robocall blocking caller ID regime by the end of the year.

Comcast said that Xfinity Mobile users can now download the Hiya app to get alerts on which incoming calls are spam.

The free app also identifies calls from common businesses, and it also allows users to block calls from entire area codes.

The collaboration with the robocall-blocking app maker Hiya represents the cable operator’s latest move to combat the robocalling problem. The activity comes as the FCC is putting pressure on communications companies to find solutions.

Comcast also said that it will implement SHAKEN/STIR techniques in areas where it is enabled by MVNO partner Verizon for an additional layer of security.

RELATED: Comcast and AT&T Successfully Test Solution to Stop Robocalling

STIR is short for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited. The SHAKEN acronym is a bit more of a reach — it stands for Secure Handling of Asserted (information using) Tokens. The “ken” in token comprises the last part of the acronym. The protocol seeks to authenticate calls by using digital certificates that determine where the call actually originates from.

In March, Comcast said it has partnered with AT&T to successfully test a solution — based on the SHAKEN/STIR protocols — to stop robocalling between various landline services.

In April, T-Mobile and Comcast announced another partnership to combat robocalling by using SHAKEN/STIR to authenticate calls made between their respective networks.

A pair of powerful Hill Dems from both side of the aisle applauded the FCC for voting Thursday (June 6) to clarify carriers' ability to block robocalls by default--before they reach the customer--but also said they would have preferred that it had also made clear those customers would not be paying for the privilege.

“Today, the FCC made an important new ruling to help protect consumers from robocalls—by allowing carriers to block robocalls, consumers will be free from annoying, unwanted, and potentially fraudulent calls," said Minnesota Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar. "While this is a promising step, we still must make sure we are protecting consumers’ choice and ensuring that the price of using these call-blocking technologies does not pass to the consumers. That’s why I’ve supported bills like the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, bipartisan legislation that gives regulators more time to find scammers, increases civil forfeiture penalties, and promotes call authentication and blocking adoption.”

Related: Senate Bulks Up Robocall Fining Authority

“I’m glad the FCC took action to allow more blocking of robocalls, but I’m disappointed the Commission’s ruling doesn’t ensure consumers don’t foot the bill for stopping these calls," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). "Consumers should not have to pay one cent more of their hard-earned money to get rid of these illegal and unwanted calls," he said, adding: "The Committee will markup consumer-focused legislation soon to stop the robocall epidemic.”

Both FCC Democrats--Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks--voted in favor or the item  but dissented in part because it did not make the service free.

The Federal Trade Commission is getting in on the robocall act this week, announcing May 15 that, at the FTC's behest, a Florida court had granted "summary judgment against two individuals, approved six settlement agreements involving 11 defendants, and entered a default judgment against the remaining seven defendants," saying that put an end to the "massive PointBreak Media robocall scam.  

The FTC charges the defendants with threatening small businesses with the stick--removal from the Google search engine (a business fate worse than death)--or the carrot of keywords that would make them prominent in such searches. They also allegedly managed to write themselves relatively small checks ($100) from a relatively large number of businesses (over $250) without those businesses' knowledge or consent.  

The defendants allegedly called more than 74 million consumers, including 14 million numbers on the national Do Not Call registry. 

The judgment and orders would ban such future conduct and fine the main perpetrators--Dustin Pillonato and Justin Ramsey--more than $3.5 million and more than $4 million more against other defendants as well as the surrender of "a 2016 Lexus RX 350 SUV." 

That comes a day after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed to allow carriers to block robocalls by default, the same week specific legislators opined on the "scourge" at an FCC oversight hearing and as Congress in general is pushing for more government authority and action to rein in robocalls, of which there are tens of billions per year, including to members of Congress during hearings on reining in robocalls. 

The ACA Connects (formerly the American Cable Association) has written House Communications Subcommittee leaders to praise its ranking member's robocall bill.

The STOP (Support Tools to Obliterate Pesky) Robocalls Act, one of more than a half dozen robocall-related bills being considered in a hearing Tuesday (April 30), would allow broadband providers to offer robocall-blocking tools for free on an "informed opt-out basis," something the association has been pushing for months, it points out.

They already give their subs the choice to opt in to the blocking tools, but ACA Connects says few customers sign up for the servicein spite of their growing frustration with the calls and the positive feedback they get from those who have opted in. Adopting the opt-out regime would "empower a much broader share of its customers to enjoy freedom from robocalls—while still preserving the right of the customer to choose," it told Congress.

"Given the popularity of these tools among customers that use them, we anticipate that opt-out rates would be low—and thus, many more of our customers would receive the benefit of these tools than do today," it told the subcommittee.

"This provision would empower providers, especially smaller providers such as ACA Connects members, to do more to protect their customers from the annoyances and dangers of robocalls," said association president Matt Polka. "I encourage the subcommittee to give this provision its fullest consideration, and to advance legislation to the full committee that includes it as soon as possible.”

Among the reasons for the flurry of bills on a subject also in the wheelhouse of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai,is that the FCC received almost a quarter million robocall complaints in 2018, a 34% increase since 2015, according to the subcommittee. The subcommittee hearing memo also cited a staggering 48 billion robocalls in 2018.

The House Communications Subcommittee will vet over a half dozen robocall-related bills at next week's (April 30) legislative hearing, the committee leadership said Friday (April 26).

Among the reasons for the flurry of bills on a subject also in the wheelhouse of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the hearing memorandum said, was that the FCC received almost a quarter million robocall complaints in 2018, a 34% increase since 2015.

It also pointed to estimates that there were a staggering 48 billion robocalls in 2018.

The memo, produced by the Democratic majority, also pointed out that, while the FCC since 2015 has fined telemarketers $208 million, it has so far collected only $6,790. But it also said the commission had "clarified that carriers are allowed to block certain categories of 'presumptively illegal calls' before they reach consumers’ phones, such as those that start with area codes that do not exist."

Comcast and T-Mobile last week announced a partnership to combat robocalls.

The bills getting the once-over are:

1. H.R. 946, the “Stopping Bad Robocalls Act,” introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J., chairman of the parent House Energy & Commerce Committee)

2. H.R. 1421, the “HANGUP Act,” introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)

3. H.R. 2355, the “ROBO Calls and Texts Act,” introduced by Rep. Eshoo

4. H.R. 721, the “Spam Calls Task Force Act of 2019,” introduced by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL)

5. Discussion Draft, the “STOP Robocalls Act,” released by Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), ranking member of the subcommittee

6. H.R. 2298, the “ROBOCOP Act,” introduced by Rep. Speier (D-CA)

7. H.R. 1575, the “Robocall Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2019,” introduced by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (D-N.J).

The House Energy & Commerce Committee Communications Subcommittee will hold a hearing April 30 on legislation to "Stop the Onslaught of Annoying Robocalls."

Related: Senate Commerce Passes Robocall Bill

Along with closing the digital divide, attacking the "scourge" of unwanted robocalls arguably tops the list of issues of concern to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

It is high on the list of legislators who hear from their constituents about the issue.

Related: FCC Classified Text Messaging as Information Service

“The robocall epidemic is only getting worse. Americans are understandably demanding action to stop these annoying, and often fraudulent, calls,” said House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), chairman of the Communications Subcommittee. “It’s time for Congress to act, and next week we will discuss legislation that will protect consumers, stop the abusive practices of robocallers and better restrict unauthorized calls.”

Comcast and T-Mobile last week announced a partnership to combat robocalls.

T-Mobile and Comcast have announced a partnership to combat robocalling by using the STIR/SHAKEN protocol to authenticate calls made between their respective networks.

“Robocalls and spam calls are an industry-wide problem, and we’ve got to join forces to keep consumers protected. Today, we’re the first to cross industry lines to do just that,” said T-Mobile CEO John Legere, in a statement.

Well, “first” is debatable. Comcast last month announced that it had jointly and successfully tested a collaborative STIR/SHAKEN effort with AT&T.

Related: Comcast and AT&T Successfully Test Solution to Stop Robocalling

But there seems to be industry-wide consensus among telecom operators that robocalling is a problem for their customers, who last year suffered through 26 billion unwanted calls. In February, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai warned telecom companies that he would step in if they didn’t do something to combat the robocalling issue.

So what is STIR/SHAKEN?

STIR is short for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited. The SHAKEN acronym is a bit more of a reach—it stands for Secure Handling of Asserted (information using) Tokens. The “ken” in token comprises the last part of the acronym.

The protocol seeks to authenticate calls by using digital certificates that determine where the call actually originates from. If a caller is successfully authenticated, T-Mobile will display “Caller Verified” on the receiving user's smart phone. In its press release today, T-Mobile said it can now port this message into the caller ID displays of 10 smart phones, including the full line of Samsung Galaxy devices.

“Fraudulent robocalls hurt everyone, so we want to give consumers more power to protect themselves,” added Eric Schaefer, senior VP and GM of broadband and communications services at Comcast Cable. “Our engineers played a key role in developing this technology for the entire industry, and we are happy to work with T-Mobile to deliver another first in the fight against fraudulent robocalls. In the coming weeks, we’ll be exchanging authenticated calls with more providers across the industry as we come together to tackle this problem.”

The Hill is getting serious about cracking down on illegal robocalls. FCC chair Ajit Pai has made that a priority, but the Senate was signaling he needed some help.

The Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday (April 3) passed the bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which was introduced by Sens. John Thune (DR-S.D.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

The bill boosts the FCC's authority to fine telemarketers, gives it more time to identify them and take action, and requires carriers to adopt call ID technologies.

Thune said more needed to be done to combat the scourge of unwanted calls. "I’m glad the committee recognized the importance of this legislation to combat this problem, which is now the top consumer complaint submitted to the Federal Trade Commission," he said.

The bill:

1. "Broadens the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to levy civil penalties of up to $10,000 per call on people who intentionally flout telemarketing restrictions.

2. "Extends the window for the FCC to catch and take civil enforcement action against intentional violations to three years after a robocall is placed. Under current law, the FCC has only one year to do so, and the FCC has told the committee that “even a one-year longer statute of limitations for enforcement” would improve enforcement against willful violators.

3. Brings together the Department of Justice, FCC, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Commerce, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other relevant federal agencies, as well as state attorneys general and other non-federal entities to identify and report to Congress on improving deterrence and criminal prosecution at the federal and state level of robocall scams.

4. "Requires voice service providers to adopt call authentication technologies, enabling a telephone carrier to verify that incoming calls are legitimate before they reach consumers’ phones.

Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to help protect subscribers from receiving unwanted calls or texts from callers."

Cable operators said they appreciated the effort and NCTA-The Internet & Television Association said it would work with other members for full Senate passage.

“Combatting illegal robocalls is a serious and complex problem. NCTA appreciates the bipartisan leadership of Senators Thune and Markey on the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act to keep consumers safe from scammers," NCTA said.

Charter suggested it was already hard at work weeding out the calls, but appreciated the help.

“Like everyone else, Charter wants annoying robocalls calls to end and we’re working hard to stopping these unwanted and illegal calls that are not only a nuisance but can also be a security threat," the company said. "Charter is committed to offering our customers a broad range of tools including call blocking, screening, and identification features like the Nomorobo app to help them control the calls they receive. Like other voice providers, we’re also implementing the call authentication protocol known as SHAKEN/STIR. We support legislation by Senators Thune and Markey that proposes meaningful timeframes around that effort and significantly enhances consumer protections.”

“For years, USTelecom and our members have been hard at work tracking down illegal robocallers, leading the way in the deployment of new call authentication standards to accelerate the fight against the robocall epidemic and thwart efforts to defraud American consumers," said Patrick Halley, SVP of law and policy. "The TRACED Act will bolster our shared goal of bringing illegal robocallers to justice with enhanced government prosecution, including criminal prosecution.”

“We thank Senators Thune and Markey for developing a balanced, bipartisan approach to combatting illegal and unwanted robocalls and applaud today’s action on the TRACED Act in the Senate," said CTIA, the wireless association. "This bipartisan legislation enhances the FCC’s ability to protect American consumers and acknowledges the important role the wireless industry has to play in implementing call authentication.”

Comcast said it has partnered with AT&T to successfully test a solution to stop robocalling between various landline services.

Calling it a “milestone” and “the nation’s first,” Comcast said the test for authenticating calls between voice providers could result in the the operator beginning to offer authentication on calls between networks to customers later this year.

According to Comcast, the tests were not conducted in a lab. They used phones on the two companies’ consumer networks—Comcast’s Xfinity Voice and AT&T Phone. Calls were successfully authenticated and verified using the SHAKEN/STIR protocol, a tool for combatting robocalls.

Developed in collaboration with Comcast and AT&T, SHAKEN/STIR verification lets consumers know that an incoming call is actually coming from a number in their caller ID display.

Over the coming months, Comcast said, the test will expand to the major service providers.

According to a report issued in January by Hiya, there were an estimated 26.3 billion robocalls in the U.S. in 2017, up 46% from 2017.

AT&T and Comcast jointly chair the working group developing the technical standards for SHAKEN/STIR. AT&T holds the chairmanship of the industry board overseeing the SHAKEN/STIR effort and Comcast is a member of that board.

Charter Communications said it now offers Nomorobo, an app that blocks unwanted telemarketing and robocalls, in its legacy systems. The app was already available to customers in the former Time Warner Cable systems that Charter acquired in May 2016.

Nomorobo auto-blocks automated calls from telemarketers using a list of known unwanted phone numbers, including those on the “Do Not Call” Registry. The call rings both the customer’s home line and the Nomorobo platform simultaneously. If Nomorobo recognizes the call is from an unwanted number, it will be blocked.

Nomorobo does allow certain automated calls to get through, including school closings, doctor’s appointment reminders, tornado warnings and prescription pickup alerts.

Charter said Spectrum Voice cutomers can activate the Nomorobo feature by following instructions posted at www.nomorobo.com.

In a July blog post, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler noted that robocalls and telemarketing calls are currently the number one source of consumer complaints at the Commission, adding that he had sent letters to the CEOs of major wireless and wireline phone companies calling on them to offer call-blocking services to their customers as soon as possible, and at no added cost.

“Customers now have even more control over the calls that come into their homes,” Rich DiGeronimo, Charter’s EVP of products and strategy, said in a release. “Nomorobo is one of the many ways we continue to enhance customers’ home phone experience with unmatched reliability and service in addition to a wide range of popular advanced phone features available at no extra cost.”

Watch this video about how Nomorobo works:

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission has finally issued its lengthy statement  — plus scathing comments from the five commissioners — from last month's contentious decision regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Omnibus Declaratory Ruling and Order.

Predictably, the final details, published last Friday (July 10), triggered even more critiques of the order, along with speculation as to how the restrictions will affect marketing, promotions and other outreach initiatives by media companies.

It also quickly triggered a court challenge. ACA International, an association of credit and collection professionals, on Friday filed a suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking judicial review of the FCC's June 18 TCPA ruling.  Other organizations are expected to seek an overturn of the FCC's ruling, according to legal observers following the case.

Although much of the concern about automated calling — including text messages and phonecalls to mobile devices — has involved the financial-services and healthcare industries, many observers voiced concern about the extent of the FCC's ruling. Online service providers, entertainment companies, sports teams and social media networks have already been hit with lawsuits by consumers who claim they improperly received robocalls or other prohibited contacts.

In its almost 200-page ruling, the FCC noted, "We have not viewed 'legitimate' businesses as somehow exempt from the statute."  The agency said its goal is to “strengthen the core protections of the TCPA.” In the report, the FCC confirmed the notions that "Internet-to-phone text messages require consumer consent" and that “text messages are ‘calls’ subject to the TCPA.”

Each of the five FCC members issued a statement about the decision. 

“There is no legal reason carriers shouldn’t offer their customers popular robocall-blocking solutions,” chairman Tom Wheeler said.

FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, acknowledged “we have more work to do,” while the agency’s third Democrat, Mignon Clyburn, said, “The commission is striking a difficult-but-necessary balance with this item.”

The FCC's Republican members were far more verbose and hostile. Commission member Michael O’Rielly called the decision a "farce" that "penalizes businesses and institutions acting in good faith to reach their customers using modern technologies."

Commissioner Ajit Pai, in an extraordinarily long 12-page dissent, concluded that "the order is likely to leave the American consumer, not to mention American enterprise, worse off."  Pai insisted that the FCC's action "dramatically expands the TCPA’s reach."  He said that under the plan, "each and every smartphone, tablet, VoIP phone, calling app, texting app — pretty much any calling device or software-enabled feature" could become a target for a legal complaint.

Many analysts have pointed out that TCPA restrictions have opened the door to ambulance-chasing lawyers, who sue companies for perceived violations — often unintended or unknowingly — of the consumers' do-not-call preferences. 

Some individual TCPA lawsuits settlement may soon "break the $100 million barrier, according to Bradley M. Baglien, Heather Zachary and  D. Reed Freeman Jr. (all of the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr) in a Bloomberg Law analysis. In their paper, posted just before the FCC released its TCPA text, the attorneys warned that businesses "need to be vigilant about TCPA compliance."

“The commission’s TCPA decision will hurt legitimate businesses, seeking to provide consumers with the calls and text alerts they have requested, said Mark Brennan, a partner at law firm Hogan Lovells focusing on TCPA compliance and FCC policy issues. That is “completely contrary to the TCPA’s statutory language and Congress’s intent,” he said. 

“The retroactive effect of the declaratory ruling will have plaintiffs’ counsel sprinting to the courthouse to file even more spurious class action lawsuits that will drive up costs and reduce services for all consumers," Brennan said.  The FCC's decision "will give rise to new confusion as legitimate businesses struggle to comply with the FCC’s opaque language," he added.

Complaints about violations of the TCPA are the FCC's most numerous complaint category, with more than 215,000 grievances filed last year, according to the agency.