Today's Regulatory Mix: FTC and FCC Send Joint Letters About Coronavirus-related Robocalls to VoIP Providers; Thanks USTelecom, FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For April Meeting
The FTC announced and the FCC announced that it sent joint letters with the FCC to three VoIP providers, warning them that routing and transmitting illegal robocalls, including Coronavirus-related scam calls, is illegal and may lead to federal law enforcement against them. The FCC and FTC have been working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice on this first-of-its-kind effort to stop scammers from reaching American consumers.
The agencies sent a separate letter to USTelecom – The Broadband Association (USTelecom), a trade association that represents U.S.-based telecommunications-related businesses. The letter thanks USTelecom for identifying and mitigating fraudulent robocalls that are taking advantage of the Coronavirus national health crisis, and notes that the USTelecom Industry Traceback Group has helped identify various entities that appear to be responsible for originating or transmitting Coronavirus-related scam robocalls.
The letter further notifies USTelecom that if, after 48 hours of the release of the letter, any of the specified gateway or originating providers continue to route or transmit the specified originators’ robocalls on its network, the FCC will: 1) authorize other U.S. providers to block all calls coming from that gateway or originating provider; and 2) authorize other U.S. providers to take any other steps as needed to prevent further transmission of unlawful calls originating from the originator.
“The FTC will not stand for illegal robocallers that harm the public, particularly in the middle of a health crisis,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “These warning letters make clear that VoIP providers who help illegal robocallers prey on fears surrounding the Coronavirus are squarely in our sights.”
“When it comes to scam robocalls, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. These phone companies need to cut off this traffic and protect consumers from these scams. The choice is simple: Move forward as responsible network providers or see themselves cut off from the phone system,” warned FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “During this national emergency, it is unconscionable that these companies are abusing their access to our nation’s telephone network by serving as conduits for scam robocallers who are subjecting Americans to coronavirus-related fraud. This must end and must end now. And to any other service provider that’s carrying or is thinking of carrying such traffic, be warned: If you do so, you too will find yourselves excluded from our phone system.”
The letters come one week after the FTC sent nine warning letters to VoIP service providers and other companies, warning them that they may be assisting illegal telemarketing relating to the Coronavirus.
See the Regulatory Mix dated 3/30/20.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For April Meeting
The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its April 23, 2020, Open Meeting.
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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.