FCC Says Carriers Can Block Robocalls And Spam Texts, But Will They?

The Federal Communications Commission wants to offer consumers more power to prevent unwanted calls.

Seinfeld. Sony Pictures Television youtube.com / Via youtube.com

The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to adopt a proposal to protect consumers against unwanted robocalls and spam texts. The FCC has made clear that phone carriers are free to provide call-blocking technology to their customers. In fact, the commission hopes that carriers would compete to offer such a service. But just because the agency has given them nation's phone companies a go-ahead, it doesn't mean that they will comply.

A spokesperson for T-Mobile told BuzzFeed News that most devices have built-in call or text blocking features, but did not indicate whether T-Mobile has plans to offer its own service.

AT&T and Verizon haven't yet responded to requests for comment. But earlier this year, in response to pleas and petitions from the Consumers Union, the two carriers did not advance their own call-blocking service even as they acknowledged the problem. In reply, Consumers Union said that the two companies "aren't doing enough to protect their customers from being harassed by unwanted robocalls."

A spokesperson for CTIA–The Wireless Association declined to comment, but referred BuzzFeed News to a list of apps that provide call-blocking.

"I detest robocalls. I'm not alone," said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted in favor of the new regulations. The proposed rules would grant consumers the unequivocal right to reject calls "in any reasonable way, at any time." Consumers can simply tell telemarketers to stop calling. And if individuals have allowed robocalls in the past, they can, at their discretion, revoke their consent.

"You cannot be called unless you consent to be called," said FCC Chair Tom Wheeler. "The consumer should be in control." The regulations apply to home phones and wireless devices, calls and texts.

"The dinner hour is sacred," Rosenworcel said, referring to her frustration with robocalls interrupting time at home, a shared feeling made abundantly clear to the FCC. Last year, the commission heard more grievances about robocalls than any other issue, receiving 215,000 consumer complaints.

The dissenting commissioners who voted against the rules believe legitimate communications will be needlessly silenced. Commissioner Michael O'Rielly cited product recalls, school safety notifications, and utility outages as important information that, under the proposed rules, may go unheard. He acknowledged that the regulations would permit urgent financial and health notices, but he argued that the FCC's narrow determinations of which calls are allowed and which aren't are arbitrary and unworkable.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has argued that the commission has overstepped its authority with its latest regulation. Businesses that are trying to reach their customers with important, time-sensitive information will now be unfairly restricted, the Chamber said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.

Another concern raised by the commissioners in opposition: consumers changing their phone numbers. But the proposed rules attempt to address potential mix-ups by granting telemarketers one errant phone call to a given number.

Thumbnail image: Seinfeld. Sony Pictures Television.