The bitter fight against robocalls has raged for years, but today it gets a boost from significant players: attorneys general from all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, working in concert with a dozen major telecoms, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Comcast.
The group has collectively agreed to a set of anti-robocalling "principles," which comprise both technical steps phone carriers can implement and expanded law enforcement efforts. Combined, the steps could drastically reduce robocalls to US consumers. "This agreement brings phone service providers on board as critical allies in our fight against illegal robocalls,” Ohio attorney general Dave Yost said in a press release. "By adopting these common-sense business practices, service providers will reinforce our ongoing efforts to crack down on this growing nuisance."
The move comes amid ongoing criticism that the Federal Communications Commission and Congress have moved too slowly to take meaningful action against robocalling, like legally mandating that telecoms make technical upgrades to block robocalls and make them more traceable when they do occur. The House and Senate have also both passed anti-robocalling bills that offer different combinations of potential solutions. It's unclear, though, when they will be reconciled and which elements will actually make it into law.
And while the combined resources and influence of 51 attorneys general is extensive, the new agreement is also non-binding, and doesn't involve any new legal authority to force telecoms to step up their cooperation.
Many of the agreement's eight principles echo existing FCC initiatives, like getting telecoms to offer free call-screening and blocking services, analyze network traffic for suspicious activity more effectively, and implement the
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