Reason to hope for an end to the robokallpest
Everyone hates them – the annoying, endless, often fake robocals from scammers and telemarketers. Striking day and night they can drive you nuts, no matter how carefully you shield your calls.
Yet this year, Americans can get some relief. On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to launch robocalls. And Congress can pass its own measures.
Under the FCC plan, telephone companies will get permission – and encouragement – to block unwanted calls using new "authentication protocol" technology. Telecoms have been reluctant to do so because existing rules oblige them to ensure that all calls go through, and they accidentally fear blocking important, desired calls.
But if the companies continue to resist, the FCC chairman Ajit Pai said lawmakers, the agency looks at making use of the new technology.
Meanwhile, New York's own transmitter Chuck Schumer says that Congress has its "best chance" but still by passing biparticulate laws to destroy robokallers.
Introduced by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) And John Thune (R-SD), the TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act) would increase fines, giving public players more time to track callers and requiring telephone companies to use the authentication protocol for to filter calls. [1[ads1]9659002] Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) for home energy and commerce also creates a bill to allow consumers to stop calls they have previously authorized and require incoming calls to view verified caller IDs.
Other suggestions about ll for optional "white lists", which allow only pre-approved callers to get through.
It is difficult to think of anyone, except fraudsters and telemarketers, who will oppose such measures. No one wants to be flooded with, says outlets for new credit lines, let alone scams that involve sending money.
Even robokals you do not respond to are unnerving. And impossible to stop: YouMail reported a total of 47.7 billion robokals nationwide last year, about 150 for each person in America, including infants. In April, Schumer noted that New York alone had 290 million calls, or 112 per second.
And it grows worse: Last year, the number of robocalls nationwide was 57 percent higher than the year before.
Washington has attempted to recover this abuse before: It first rolled out the non-call register in 2003. However, foreign calls and "advances" such as fast auto-dialing and the ability to fake caller ID made the registry almost useless.
FCC, Pai reports, is getting more complaints about robocalls than anything else. "The American people are tired of," he says.
It should be enough to move the congress to two-party actions. The nation needs effective action – quickly, before we all lose our thoughts.
