Federal Communications Commission	FCC 23-107


STATEMENT OF
CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re:	Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages, CG Docket No. 21-402; Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278; Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, CG Docket No. 17-59, Second Report and Order, Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Waiver Order (December 13, 2023)
	It’s the holiday season.  This is the time of year when we are ramping up our online shopping, donating to charities, and maybe, if we are lucky, planning for some downtime visiting with family and friends.  But it is also a time when scammers are coming up with new schemes to cheat us through our phones.  They know that sending us a message about a package we never ordered or a payment that never went through along with a link to a shady website is a quick and easy way to get us to fall prey to fraud.  These messages make a mess out of our phones.  But they do more than that; they erode trust in the networks we all count on to communicate.
	We need to find every way we can under the law to stop these junk robocalls and robotexts from reaching us on our devices.  And because scam artists are nimble—during the holidays and throughout the year—we need to regularly update our policies to stop this stuff from coming over the line.  
	The changes we make today matter.  We make clear that when the Federal Communications Commission identifies a number sending this junk, carriers must block texts from that number before they reach your phone.  Likewise, we make clear that the national registry to prevent unwanted calls applies not only to calls but also to texts.  
	Then we go one step further and shut down a loophole that is a significant source of a growing number of robocalls and robotexts.  This loophole has been identified as a problem by countless consumer groups, members of Congress, and State Attorneys General because it creates a marketplace for our numbers, with companies buying and selling access to our phones and in the process cranking up the number of unwanted calls and texts we receive.
	Let me explain.  
	Imagine you are shopping online.  You give a business your number and in a single click you are also giving that business the right to sell and share your number with hundreds if not thousands of other businesses that may use it to send you robocalls and robotexts that you never asked for, do not want, and do not need.  They bury it in the fine print, so you do not realize when you make that one click you are authorizing all kinds of incoming junk to your phone.  This is called the lead generator loophole.  And it is a big reason why unwanted robocalls and robotexts are multiplying on our phones.  So today we put an end to this loophole.  We make clear that any company that wants to use robocalls and robotexts in their businesses obtain consent one-to-one.  That means consumers get back the power to pick who they want to communicate with and when.  
	Then, to make sure we can keep updating our efforts to stop unwanted calls and texts, we seek comment on some additional ideas we have to address them, including blocking through originating service providers, using authentication practices for texting, and requiring texting response to traceback requests.  
	I look forward to the record that develops.  I look forward to putting an end to illegal robocalls and robotexts.  We are not going to stop until we do.  
	Thank you to those at the agency who worked on this effort, including Mark Stone, Aaron Garza, Wesley Platt, Kristi Thornton, Zac Champ, Jerusha Burnett, Mika Savir, Rebecca Maccaroni, Robert Aldrich, Kimberly Wild, and James Brown from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; Kristi Thompson, Daniel Stepanicich, Caitlin Barbas, and Jane van Benten from the Enforcement Bureau; Jonathan Lechter, Connor Ferraro, Elizabeth Drogula, Adam Copeland, Jodie May, Melissa Droller Kirkel, Chris Laughlin, and Zachary Ross from the Wireline Competition Bureau; Kenneth Carlberg and David Furth from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau; Kari Hicks, Susannah Larson, Jennifer Salhus, Barbara Esbin, Arpan Sura, Garnet Hanly, and John Lockwood from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; Joy Ragsdale, Joycelyn James, and Chana Wilkerson from the Office of Communications Business Opportunities; Michelle Schaefer, Patrick Brogan, Emily Talaga, Kim Makuch, Andrew Wise, Eugene Kiselev, Eric Ralph, and Mark Montano from the Office of Economics and Analytics; and Andrea Kearney, Rick Mallen, Derek Yeo, Jeffrey Steinberg, Kathleen Fulp, Anjali Singh, Michael Janson, Karen Schroeder, Douglas Klein, Marcus Maher, and Chin Yoo from the Office of General Counsel.

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