Happy Wednesday!
Just last week – at our Ah-mazing Conference – the Czar discussed Carriers and Call-Blocking. If you were there, then you know that under the new regime, carriers are under scrutiny to prevent robocalls. If you weren’t there, well…
As our amazing Duchess reported, the FTC in conjunction with over 100 federal and state enforcement agencies announced a joint agency crackdown: “Operation Stop Scam Calls.”
The list of speakers should be enough to let everyone know, this is NOT a drill!
Director Samuel Levine from the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection introduced quite a line up. According to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Arun G. Rao from the United States Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Branch, Chief of Enforcement Bureau Loyaan A. Egal from the Federal Communication Commission, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the agencies are working collectively, collaboratively, comprehensively and in a coordinated manner.
Each speaker expressed its disdain for robocalls – whether it was the war on robocalls or the fight to end robocalls or the locust attack through the “use of modern technology to swarm through the landscape, defrauding our constituents and vanishing into the digital frontier.” – Ohio Attorney General.
Make no mistake about it, the crackdown on Robocalls (and text messages) and Carriers is HERE!
Remember, when the Czar saved PhoneBurner.
And the DOJ brought a civil action against Stratics Network.
Then another action against XCastLabs, Inc.
And the death sentence to Global UC.
In fact, from 2022 through 2023, the FCC issued over twenty (20) Cease and Desist Letters through its injunctive authority requiring originating and gateway providers who are facilitating calls to mitigate or block calls and authorizing downstream entities to block calls.
So, what does this mean for Carriers?
- Know whose traffic you are carrying
- Know whether the traffic is fraudulent
- Know where the traffic is coming from
In other words, implement Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Know-Your-Traffic (KYT) principles. Also, utilize highly technical call authentication and the robocall mitigation database program, implement mechanisms to prevent an illegal robocall and cooperate with law enforcement.
According to the Illinois Attorney General, this is an opportunity for legitimate providers to stop suspicious traffic and YOU have a responsibility to detect illegal robocall traffic! But do you? I mean is that really the telecom industry’s responsibility. Hmmm…
Still, Carriers can’t turn a blind eye to bad traffic on their networks. If you are a Carrier, make sure that you are performing your due diligence. If you need assistance, please reach out to Troutman Amin, LLP.
Til next time, Countess!!! 😊