The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says that tools available to block unwanted robocalls are “now substantially available” to consumers at no or low cost.
In a staff report prepared by the Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and issued in June, the Commission found that billions of unwanted calls are now being blocked each year. The report also says that the available no or low-cost tools have few reported instances of “false positive” blocking (that is, when a potentially wanted call is blocked) and that there are no reported instances that the tools have blocked an emergency call or a call-back from a public safety official responding to a 911 emergency call.
Appendix B of the report provides details on the call blocking and call labeling options currently available from 12 major voice service providers operating in the U.S., as well as the estimated number of calls blocked or labeled by the provider.
“Tools are available today to help consumers block robocalls, spoofed calls, scam calls, telemarketers, and other unwanted calls,” said FCC Chair Ajit Pai upon the release of the staff report. “We will continue to prioritize the protection of consumers from scams and unwanted robocalls.”
Read the FCC’s report on the state of robocall blocking tools available to consumers.
