(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced that he has joined 38 other state attorneys general in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review whether phone companies can utilize call-blocking technologies to better protect consumers from unwanted calls and scams.
Call-blocking technologies, such as NoMoRobo, Call Control, and Telemarketing Guard, have been developed to enable phone carriers to identify and block unwelcome sales calls at their customers’ request. However, some phone carriers have not implemented this technology, in part because of the belief that federal law prevents carriers from blocking calls on their consumers’ behalf.
In a letter to the FCC, the attorneys general ask: At a customer’s request, can carriers legally block telemarketing calls if technology is able to identify the call as coming from a telemarketer?
“Illegal telemarketing calls are a source of irritation and fraud,” Attorney General DeWine said. “Enforcement efforts alone will not solve the problem. We need to determine whether call-blocking technologies can be used by phone companies to protect consumers from unwanted calls and scams.”
Phone carriers have expressed concern that the FCC’s legal framework prohibits phone companies from determining which calls should be allowed to go through to a customer and which should be blocked. Last year, in explaining the obstacles that phone carriers face in implementing call-blocking technologies, US Telecom wrote to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance that “the FCC has concluded that call blocking is an unjust and unreasonable practice under section 201(b) of the Communications Act of 1934.”
In the letter to the FCC, the attorneys general ask for a formal opinion on whether an exception can be made to allow companies to block illegal telemarketing calls at the request of a consumer.
The National Do Not Call Registry, which helps consumers limit the telemarketing calls they receive, may not prevent consumers from receiving illegal telemarketing calls.
In 2013, the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section received more than 2,700 “Do Not Call” complaints, making Do Not Call violations the third most common complaint category, behind motor vehicle and collections complaints.
States and territories that signed the letter to the FCC are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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Documents
Letter (PDF)
Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Kate Hanson: 614-466-3840