The Federal Communications Commission continues its fight against robocalls, with several recent actions that include its largest-ever proposed fine against a Florida-based robocalling operation, a crackdown on service providers who have allegedly not lived up to their commitments to implementing the STIR/SHAKEN call authentication framework, and new enforcement partnerships at the state level to help track down and prosecute illegal robocall operations.
The FCC also issued additional cease-and-desist orders for originating or gateway network providers that the agency said are allowing illegal spam and scam calls to originate on or traverse their networks.
“Our message to anyone helping illegal robocalls remains simple and consistent: Stop it now or face serious consequences,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in a statement. “Providers must meet their consumer protection obligations. If they do not, we are ready to take swift and meaningful action against bad actors.”
Among the specifics of the actions:
-The FCC proposed a $45 million fine against a company, Interstate Brokers of America, that it says made more than half a million robocalls to wireless phones with pre-recorded messages, without consent from consumers who received the calls and to numbers which were on the Do Not Call registry. The calls tried to sell health insurance “under the pretense that the annual enrollment period had been reopened due to the coronavirus pandemic,” the FCC said, adding that its investigation was prompted by a report from the Industry
Traceback Group of suspected illegal robocall traffic. Interstate Brokers has a chance to respond to the allegations before the FCC takes final action on the matter.
-Voice providers Vonage (which is in the process of being acquired by Ericsson) and Bandwidth both lost a partial exemption from STIR/SHAKEN deployment deadlines, because, the agency said, they didn’t meet certain commitments to implement the framework. The FCC has referred both to its Enforcement Bureau.
“The FCC is keeping close watch as phone companies implement STIR/SHAKEN – a critical tool to help robocall blocking and consumer information,” said Rosenworcel. “We will hold companies accountable if they fail to meet their commitments to protect consumers from robocalls.”
-The FCC sent cease-and-desist letters to voice providers Great Choice Telecom and TCA Voip demanding that they take action within 48 hours to mitigate illegal robocall traffic utilizing their services. The agency said that it has sent 15 such letters to date; the agency said that “voice service providers that not only carry robocall traffic but appear to play a role in originating that traffic also face potential removal from the Robocall Mitigation Database,” which would allow downstream voice service providers to block all of a provider’s traffic.
-Finally, the FCC also announced several new state-level, formal partnerships to help track and crack down on illegal robocalling operations. The agency signed memoranda of understanding with the states of Colorado and Vermont, bringing its state-federal robocall enforcement partnerships to 16. The FCC said it wants to have that level of partnership with every state, and that the “formal investigatory partnerships between State Attorneys General and the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau help protect consumers around the country from unwanted and illegal robocalls and spoofing scams.”
“Robocalls are not only a constant nuisance, but they are also a tool for scammers to rob
Americans of billions of their hard-earned dollars,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, who is one of several state AGs who has been supportive of these collaborations. “The best way to protect people from robocalls is by working together at every level.”
