Chairman Pai Demands Industry Adopt Protocols To End Illegal Spoofing

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai demanded that the phone industry adopt a robust call authentication system to combat illegal caller ID spoofing and launch that system no later than 2019. Such a system is critical to protecting Americans from scam robocalls. A robust call authentication framework would erode the ability of callers to illegally spoof their Caller ID, which scam artists use to trick Americans into answering their phones when they shouldn’t. With a robust framework in place, consumers and law enforcement alike could more readily identify the source of illegal robocalls and reduce their impact. And the Commission is considering additional actions—such as authorizing voice providers to block the delivery of unsigned or improperly signed calls to consumers—that would stem the flow of illegally spoofed robocalls to American consumer.