FTC Staff Comment Before the Federal Communications Commission On Public Notice DA 14-1700, Regarding the Issues Relating To Carrier Implementation of Call-Blocking Technology

FTC staff submitted a comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to a public notice seeking input on call-blocking. Staff stressed that consumers continue to be barraged by unwanted telemarketing calls, and that a large part of the solution is “call-blocking technology – i.e., a ‘spam filter’ for the phone. The carriers have so far avoided adopting such technology, claiming that the FCC legal framework does not allow phone companies to block calls, even if their customer requests call-blocking. Concluding the comment, the FTC writes that, “An affirmative statement from the FCC that common carriers can offer call-blocking services to their consumers without violating their common carriage obligations would be in the best interest of American consumers.”