Security News > 2021 > October > FCC orders phone carriers to enforce unlawful robocall blocking
The Federal Communications Commission announced earlier this week that phone companies are now required to filter calls from providers who haven't complied with a deadline to block illegal robocalls expired on September 28th. They can only accept calls from voice service providers registered in the Robocall Mitigation Database who have implemented caller ID authentication technology for calls carried made over Internet Protocol networks or filed a robocall mitigation plan with the FCC. "This technology is critical to protecting Americans from scams using spoofed robocalls because it erodes the ability of callers to illegally spoof a caller ID, which scammers use to trick Americans into answering their phones when they shouldn't," the FCC explains.
To make it easy to comply with this robocall blocking deadline, the FCC provides an email subscription service that telecom companies can use to keep track of changes to the Robocall Mitigation Database.
"The FCC is using every tool we can to combat malicious robocalls and spoofing - from substantial fines on bad actors to policy changes to technical innovations like STIR/SHAKEN," said FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
"Today's deadline establishes a very powerful tool for blocking unlawful robocalls. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect consumers against scammers who flood our homes and businesses with spoofed robocalls."
The FCC has also hit multiple companies and organizations behind illegal robocall campaigns with hundreds of millions in fines in the last few years.
While in these cases, the FCC was forced to alert the robocallers by issuing citations before finning them, starting with May 2020, the agency no longer has to issues warning before fining unlawful robocallers.