Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: FTC closes rulemaking on caller ID falsification issues, (Dec 16, 2013)

After reviewing the public comments received on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in December 2010 regarding the caller identification (Caller ID) requirements of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and technical presentations at the FTC’s 2012 Robocall Summit, the Commission announced today that it has closed the rulemaking proceeding. The FTC has determined that amendments to the TSR would not reduce the incidence of falsification of Caller ID information (called “spoofing”) in telemarketing calls.

When the TSR was amended in 2003, the FTC added a requirement that telemarketers transmit information to the Caller ID services. However, new technologies allow telemarketers to mask their information by spoofing the name and telephone number that appear on the Caller ID displays. The Commission will continue to vigorously enforce the TSR’s prohibition on Caller ID spoofing and its ban on the vast majority of commercial robocalls. The FTC has determined that no additions or modifications of the TSR would effectively prevent Caller ID spoofing. As a result, the rulemaking proceeding has been closed.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews