Robocalls are getting worse. And some big businesses soon could start calling you even more.

Robocalls ravaged Americans’ smartphones in record numbers in June. But some of the nation’s top businesses – from credit card companies and student lenders to retailers and car dealers – are still urging the Trump administration to make it easier for them to dial and text mobile devices en masse. For many smartphone owners, there’s rarely a day that they don’t receive an unanticipated call from an unrecognized number, some sporting an area code that’s suspiciously similar to their own. In June, robocalls rang an estimated 4 billion times. A quarter of the calls sought to steal financial information or ensnaring people in other serious scams. But major U.S. corporations like Capital One, Navient and Sirius XM tap that same auto-dialing technology to tout their products or nudge consumers to pay their late bills. Their lobbying blitz to ward off tough, new rules has enraged public-interest advocates, who say the floodgates soon could be open for businesses to pester consumers with calls and texts that they don't want -- while leaving people with fewer options to stop the onslaught. 

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that covered more technologies and opened the door for consumers to bring more lawsuits against entities that ignored their demands to stop calling. In response, a trade association of debt collectors sued the telecom agency, claiming its rules were too broad, and a federal court in March agreed. Under the Trump administration, the FCC once again has solicited reform ideas from consumer and industry groups. In the process, corporations have pushed back on rules that would target them or stiff penalties if they make mistakes.