In a press release the Attorney General of North Carolina announced they joined 50 other Attorneys General and 12 phone companies to create a set of principles aimed at thwarting illegal robocalls. In the release the AG advised that the phone companies have agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls.
The coalition of attorneys general, led by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, and Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, includes attorneys general from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The coalition of companies includes AT&T, Bandwidth, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated, Frontier, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, and Windstream.
“Robocalls are the greatest frustration I hear about from North Carolinians,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Last month, my office announced a robocall petition and within days, we’d heard from thousands of people who have been harmed or harassed by these unwanted and illegal calls. Today, I’m proud to lead this national effort to fight illegal robocalls.”
The principles address illegal robocalls in two key ways: prevention and enforcement.
“Robocalls are a scourge – at best, annoying, at worst, scamming people out of their hard-earned money,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “By signing on to these principles, industry leaders are taking new steps to keep your phone from ringing with an unwanted call. They’ve also agreed to do more to help other state attorneys general and me track down the scammers and fraudsters responsible so that we can keep them from preying on people.”
Phone companies will work to prevent illegal robocalls by:
Phone companies will assist attorneys general anti-robocall enforcement by:
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The Regulatory Mix Today: 51 State Attorneys General and 12 Major Carriers Announce Anti-Robocall Principles, FTC Announces
FY 2020 DNC Registry Fees
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The Federal Trade Commission announced the FY 2020 fees for telemarketers accessing phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry. Most of the annual fees will increase slightly from FY 2019. Specifically, in FY 2020 telemarketers will pay $65 for yearly access to Registry phone numbers in a single area code, which is an increase of $2 from FY 2019. The maximum charge to any single entity for accessing all area codes nationwide is now $17,765 (up from $17,406 in FY 2019). The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will remain the same as in FY 2019, at $32.
All telemarketers calling consumers in the United States are required to download the numbers on the National DNC Registry to ensure they do not call consumers who have registered their phone numbers. The first five area codes are free to download, and organizations that are exempt, such as some charitable organizations, may obtain the entire list for free. Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers.
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.