FCC Empowers Telephone Companies to Curb Robocall Menace

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday came to the rescue of the disgruntled consumers who can now promptly request the blocking of the undesired robocalls and automated text messages.

FCC announced in a statement,” As part of this package, the Commission has made clear that telephone companies face no legal barriers to allowing consumers to choose to use robocall-blocking technology.”

FCC has ruled under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and has affirmed that under the package, the phone service providers can offer robocall blocking technology to customers. Also, the consumers can decide to opt out of robocalls at any time.

Lastly, the same protections and opt-out rights regarding telemarketing messages will apply to text messages and to calls to wireless and landline phones as well.

Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairman stated on Thursday that the FCC decision was made because the public has requested for it. The FCC’s action follows the whooping 215,000 complaints received in 2014 about robocalls despite the availability of the ‘Do-Not-Call’ service.

However, not all have welcomed the FCC’s move. The pro-spammers cite it to be potentially harmful for the research profession and detrimental to democracy.

Michael O’Reilly and Ajit Pai, two Republican commissioners voted against the blockade. They assert that though the robocalls are annoying, the new rules would make it difficult for businesses to serve their customers.

The critics of the measure further warn that FCC’s move could lead to more lawsuits against companies which would then lead to increased costs for consumers.