Chairman Pai Proposes Robocall Blocking by Default

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing bold action to help consumers block unwanted robocalls. He has circulated a declaratory ruling that, if adopted, would allow phone companies to block unwanted calls to their customers by default. In addition, companies could allow consumers to block calls not on their own contact list. The draft Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would propose a safe harbor for providers that implement network-wide blocking of calls that fail caller authentication under the SHAKEN/STIR framework once it is implemented. Chairman Pai also proposes seeking public comment on how caller ID authentication standards, known as SHAKEN/STIR, can inform call blocking. The Chairman has demanded that carriers adopt these standards to combat malicious spoofing. May 15’s action would be the first by the Commission to directly combat scam robocalls that spoof legitimate, in-service numbers.