Media Contact: 
Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509
will.wiquist@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

CHAIRMAN PAI ANNOUNCES REVIEW OF CONSUMERS’ ROBOCALL BLOCKING OPTIONS
FCC Will Gather Info on Call Blocking for a Report on Availability and Effectiveness of Call Blocking Tools
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WASHINGTON, December 20, 2019—The Federal Communications Commission today began a study of unwanted-call blocking services available to consumers across the country.  By issuing a public notice seeking comment, the agency formally starts collecting information to inform a report required by last June’s action authorizing call blocking as a default option for consumers instead of requiring them to opt into these services to reduce robocalls.  

“As the FCC continues to pull out all the stops to protect consumers against scam robocalls and spoofing, we expect phone companies and others to make effective tools available to consumers so they can block unwanted and fraudulent calls,” said Chairman Pai.  “This report will help us better understand where we stand on call blocking and how the actions we’ve taken to date have worked.”

As part of the June declaratory ruling and proposed rulemaking, the Commission tasked its Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to study and report on the current landscape of call blocking tools.  The 2020 Call Blocking Report will address, among other things, the availability to consumers of call-blocking solutions, the effectiveness of various categories of call-blocking tools, and any direct consumer costs associated with the tools.  The Bureau will study the impact of previous Commission rule changes to allow voice service providers to block calls from phone numbers on a Do-Not-Originate list and those that purport to be from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers.  The report will also include a study on the impact of call blocking on 911 and public safety.

Public comments and reply comments will be accepted for sixty days following publication in the Federal Register.  After the comment and reply comment periods, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff will review the public record and prepare the report, in consultation with the Wireline Competition and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureaus, and deliver it to the Commissioners by June of 2020.  Last June’s action requires the FCC staff to deliver a second report to the Commissioners on the same topics by June of 2021.

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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).