Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
ACTING CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL

Re: 	Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, CG Docket No. 17-59; Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (September 30, 2021).

Robocalls are singularly annoying.  But there is no one single solution to get them off the line.  So we are firing on all fronts.
We’re enforcing the law.  We’re sending cease-and desist letters to companies running illegal robocall campaigns to tell them they have 48 hours to knock it off or we will tell all other carriers to reject their traffic.  We adopted the largest FCC fine in history for spoofing.  We adopted the largest FCC fine in history under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  In short, we’re bringing new heat to our enforcement and are not going to stop until we get these calls off the line.  
We’re giving consumers new tools.  We’ve empowered consumers with new blocking tools and have given carriers the regulatory green light to block illegal calls before they reach our homes and business.  
	We’re using new technologies.  We’re requiring carriers to put STIR/SHAKEN technology in their networks.  With this caller authentication system in place, carriers can know that callers really are who they say they are and stop spoofing at the source.  We’re also making carriers use a new Robocall Mitigation Database.  Every carrier in the United States is required to register and tell us what they are doing to stop robocalls.  But we’re not just looking at their plans, if carriers fail to register, we’re telling all other carriers to block their calls.
We’re shutting down loopholes.  With reports finding that more and more robocalls are coming to us from outside of this country, we need a way to cut them off before they reach our shores.  After all, we don’t want international calling to become a loophole for our policies.  So today we are proposing that gateway providers in the United States—the companies that bring in calls from overseas—take action to stop this stuff from coming in from abroad.  That means they need to use STIR/SHAKEN technology, register in our Robocall Mitigation Database, and comply with traceback requests to figure out where these junk calls are originating from overseas.  
This will help us tackle the growing number of international robocalls.  Because we can’t have these scam artists multiplying abroad and hiding from our regulatory reach.  We’re going to stop these nuisance calls before they reach our homes and businesses in the United States.  And if the tools we have here are not up to task—we will need to go to Congress and ask for more.
Thank you to the Robocall Response Team for their efforts on this and specifically thank you to Pam Arluk, Michele Berlove, Matt Collins, Dan Kahn, Jonathan Lechter, and Kris Monteith of the Wireline Competition Bureau; Robert Aldrich, Jerusha Burnett, Aaron Garza, Karen Schroeder, Mark Stone, Kristi Thornton, and Patrick Webre of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; Patrick DeGraba, Chuck Needy, and Emily Talaga of the Office of Economics and Analytics; Lisa Gelb, David Strickland, Kristi Thompson, and Lisa Zaina of the Enforcement Bureau; Kimberly Cook, Wayne Leighton, and Jim Schlichting of the International Bureau; Ken Carlberg and David Furth of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau; Belford Lawson and Sanford Williams of the Office of Communications Business Opportunities; and Michele Ellison, Rick Mallen, Linda Oliver, Bill Richardson, and Derek Yeo of the Office of General Counsel.



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