Federal Communications Commission "FCC XX-XXX" STATEMENT OF CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL Re: Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Notice of Inquiry (October 27, 2022). Scam artists are always looking for an angle. Those behind illegal robocalls are no exception. When we shut down one way for them to make these annoying calls, they look for another. So we have to be just as relentless. We need to be just as inventive using the tools we have to bring these junk calls to an end. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission required that carriers nationwide authenticate all calls using a technology called STIR/SHAKEN. When this network technology is present, consumers can trust that when the phone rings the caller is who they say they are—and not some scam artist with a false number trying to sell you something you did not ask for and do not need. It helps reduce the number of spoofed calls. But while STIR/SHAKEN has proven effective on networks that rely on Internet Protocol, it does not work in the same way on older parts of our networks with traditional copper lines. That is why we are kicking off this inquiry today. We are not just going to wait for this infrastructure to be updated and eligible for STIR/SHAKEN, we are going to look for ways to combat these calls on the oldest portions of our networks. In other words, we are going to get creative because this is what we need to do to take on these junk calls. We constantly need to look for new ways to address this problem—and new partners to join us in the fight. To that end, we now have a Memorandum of Understanding with 43 states, plus the District of Columbia and Guam, to share resources and information to crack down on robocalls. These partnerships have already yielded real results. A few months back, we worked with our colleagues in Ohio to target auto warranty robocall scams. Working together, we were able to reduce these calls by 80 percent. We also need to punish the bad actors responsible for these calls, as we did this month when for the first time ever we ordered seven voice providers to shape up or face removal from our Robocall Mitigation Database, which leads to expulsion from America’s phone networks. Like I said at the start, we can’t stop because scam artists are always looking for the next opportunity. But I think being relentless also means identifying the loopholes in existing laws that fraudsters can exploit and may need further attention from Congress. That means addressing the definition of autodialer that was narrowed by the Supreme Court last year in a decision involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It means expanding the Commission’s ability to track the businesses that entities like these scammers set up to obscure ownership by providing the agency with streamlined authority to access Bank Secrecy Act information. It means making sure that when we issue fines we have a fair shot at collecting them by providing the Commission with the opportunity to pursue these cases in court and not just rely on our colleagues at the Department of Justice to do so. This continued fight against illegal robocalls wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated work of the agency’s Robocall Response Team and the individuals behind today’s inquiry, including Jerusha Burnett, Aaron Garza, Karen Schroeder, Mark Stone, and Kristi Thornton from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; Lisa Gelb, Daniel Stepanicich, Kristi Thompson, and Lisa Zaina from the Enforcement Bureau; Kimberly Cook and Jim Schlichting from the International Bureau; Chuck Needy and Emily Talaga from the Office of Economics and Analytics; Richard Mallen, Linda Oliver, William Richardson, and Derek Yeo from the Office of General Counsel; Ken Carlberg from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau; and Pam Arluk, Allison Baker, Matt Collins, Elizabeth Drogula, Lynne Engledow, CJ Ferraro, Victoria Goldberg, Jesse Goodwin, Trent Harkrader, Zach Ross, Hayley Steffen, Gil Strobel, and David Zesiger from the Wireline Competition Bureau. 2