STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, CG Docket No. 17-59
A week and a half ago, I got an email from Mr. Duncan Weddington of Winchester, Tennessee.  
This is what he wrote: “Will you please start an initiative to stop invasive nuisance robocalls[?]  We have 
received 5 already today and the day is not over.  Please help.  I am 80 years old and would like to spend 
my remaining time on God’s good earth without these consistent unwanted calls.” 
A few days after that, I got an email from Ms. Florence Friedman of New York City.  She had 
first complained to the FCC two years ago, saying the number of robocalls she got was “maddening.”  As 
she put it then, “[T]hese calls come in from a wide range of phone numbers from a wide range of cities.  
I’m sure if I reported a specific number you wouldn’t find anyone at that number. . . . This is the wild 
west, an area of lawlessness.  It is the FCC’s job to find a solution.  Please do it fast.”  She forwarded that 
email to me last Friday, adding “As you can see, this is an old problem, one which persists and has gotten 
worse. Can’t you do something? . . . Hopefully, you will put this high on your agenda.  It really is 
disruptive to one’s life. . . . We deserve peace and quiet—and yes, even security.  Please do something!”
There are millions of Americans as fed up by illegal robocalls as Duncan Weddington and 
Florence Friedman.  I count myself as one of them.
Robocalls are the number one consumer complaint to the FCC from the public. And it’s no 
wonder:  Every month, U.S. consumers are bombarded by an estimated 2.4 billion robocalls.  Not only 
are unwanted robocalls intrusive and irritating, but they are also frequently employed to scam our most 
vulnerable populations, like elderly Americans, out of their hard-earned dollars.
This must change. And starting today, we lay the foundation for changing it.
In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we aim to take an important first step in ending the 
scourge of illegal robocalls.  In particular, we propose to authorize providers to block calls purporting to 
originate from unassigned or invalid numbers.  These are numbers that are either unassigned under the 
North American Numbering Plan; not allocated to a phone company; or not assigned to a subscriber.  In 
each case, there is no legitimate reason for anyone to spoof such a number.  By allowing providers to 
block calls from unassigned numbers, we can help stop scammers.
Next, we codify guidance provided by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in 2016
that providers may block calls when the subscriber to a particular telephone number requests that calls 
purporting to originate from that number be blocked.  By formalizing this safe harbor we give certainty to 
voice service providers that will allow them to block plainly illegitimate calls, and we empower 
subscribers of spoofed numbers to take action to protect themselves and their numbers.
Finally, we seek input on other objective criteria to identify illegal robocalls—criteria that could 
help us distinguish, for example, between a woman at a domestic violence shelter legitimately using 
Caller ID spoofing to check on her kids at home and a foreign huckster pretending to call from the 
Internal Revenue Service.  That’s because we know the problem of illegal robocalls is complicated and 
the solutions are many—and today’s proposals are only the Commission’s first step toward defeating this 
scourge.
I’d like to thank John B. Adams, Jerusha Burnett, Micah Caldwell, Alison Kutler, Kurt 
Schroeder, and Mark Stone from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; Jeff Gee, Rick 
2Hindman, and Kristi Thompson from the Enforcement Bureau; Billy Layton and Rick Mallen from the 
Office of General Counsel; Henning Schulzrinne and Antonio Sweet from the Office of Strategic Policy 
and Planning; and Adam Copeland, Kristine Fargotstein, Dan Kahn, and Nirali Patel from the Wireline 
Competition Bureau for their hard work on this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry
and their continued dedication and service to the public.
Oh, and Mr. Weddington: May your remaining time on God’s good earth be ample, and free 
from robocalls.  And Ms. Friedman: I won’t stop until you can finally enjoy some peace and quiet.