The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Report and Order on September 5, 2024, proposing stricter call and text blocking rules for voice service providers (VSPs) and mobile wireless providers. These new rules come with significant penalties for non-compliance. The FCC will vote on this Report and Order at its next meeting on September 26, 2024.
Key Changes for Voice Service Providers (VSPs)
The new rules expand the FCC’s current call blocking and robocall mitigation requirements:
- Do-Not-Originate (DNO) List: All VSPs must block calls from numbers based on a reasonable DNO list, which may include unused, unallocated, or invalid numbers, and numbers that subscribers have requested to be blocked.
- Blocking Illegal Traffic: Terminating and non-gateway intermediate providers must block illegal voice traffic upon FCC notification.
- Enforcement Orders: The Enforcement Bureau can order all downstream providers to block traffic from any VSP that fails to block illegal traffic.
- Penalties: VSPs that do not comply with robocall mitigation rules requiring that they implement “affirmative, effective measures to prevent new and renewing customers from using [their] network to originate illegal calls,” face a base fine of $11,000, which can be increased to the maximum allowed under FCC rules.
- Caller Notification: VSPs must immediately notify callers using SIP code 603+ when calls are blocked based on reasonable analytics.
The FCC decided not to mandate analytics-based blocking for terminating providers, citing concerns about over-blocking and implementation difficulties. However, the FCC encourages providers to develop tools for accurate caller name information display, though it is not yet mandatory.
New Rules for Mobile Wireless Carriers
The FCC also proposed new text blocking rules and requirements for email-to-text services:
- Blocking Illegal Texts: Originating providers must block texts from sources flagged by the FCC for suspected illegal activity, or risk having all texts blocked by downstream providers.
- Opt-In Email-to-Text Services: Email-to-text services must be provided on an opt-in basis only.
The FCC chose not to mandate analytics-based text message blocking at this time but plans to revisit this issue. The Commission also decided not to extend call authentication and traceback requirements to text messages, opting to monitor industry progress instead.
Compliance and Penalties
Should the Proposed Rule be approved, the effective date of each new provision would be based on time frames triggered by a certain number of days/months after publication of the Rule in the Federal Register:
- VSP robocall mitigation rules and penalties: 60 days after publication
- 603+ requirements: 12 months after publication
- Text blocking rules: 180 days after publication
Because of the harsh penalties levied under these new rules, voice service and mobile wireless providers should take notice and begin implementing processes and procedures to ensure compliance. We can help.
Associate Attorney Ben Jewell works with the firm’s Compliance team, advising on proactive compliance with telemarketing and privacy laws.