FCC Initiates Proceeding to Create Public Safety Do-Not-Call Registry

The Federal Communications Commission initiated a proceeding to create a Do-Not-Call registry for public safety answering points (PSAP) as required by the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.” Specifically, section 6507 of the Tax Relief Act requires the FCC, among other things, to establish a registry that allows PSAPs to register telephone numbers on a Do-Not-Call list and prohibit the use of automatic dialing or “robocall” equipment to contact those numbers.

In addition, the Tax Relief Act establishes a range of monetary penalties for entities that disclose the registered numbers or use automatic dialing equipment to contact a number on the PSAP registry. These provisions are designed to address concerns about the use of “automatic dialing equipment,” which can generate large numbers of phone calls in a short period of time, tie up public safety lines, divert critical responder resources away from emergency services and impede access by the public to emergency lines. Because there is a statutory mandate to create such a registry, our focus in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM or Notice) is to obtain the information necessary to implement this mandate consistent with the requirements set forth in the Tax Relief Act.