FCC To Clamp Down Even Further On Robo Calls

There is nothing consumers hate more than robocalls, spam text messages and unwanted telemarketing calls. But even though more than 200 million people are on the federal government’s Do Not Call list, robocalls still manage to get through to cell phones.

Hoping to plug the regulatory loopholes, the Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing new rules that will allow carriers to offer consumers call-blocking technologies and give consumers more control over who gets to call their phone numbers, reports kathyonthehill.com.

The proposal, which the FCC will vote on in its June 18 monthly meeting, is intended to clarify some of the provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a 1991 law managed by the FCC.

Over the last couple of years, the FCC has faced increasing pressure from consumer groups, lawmakers and 39 State Attorneys General to do something to plug the loopholes in the law. It’s the top complaint at the FCC, which last year alone, received more than 215,000 TCPA complaints. The proposal is intended to resolve more than 20 pending petitions at the agency.

“At the FCC, we see consumer protection as one of our most fundamental missions,” Wheeler said in a blog post Wednesday explaining his proposal.