Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: FTC staff supports allowing carriers to offer call-blocking, (Jan 27, 2015)
Organizations Mentioned:National Association of Attorneys General
By Brian Hammond,TR Daily
In a comment submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on January 23, the FTC staff stated that it doesn't believe any legal barriers or policy considerations prevent common carriers from offering technology allowing their customers to block unwanted calls. Nevertheless, some service providers have urged the FCC to take a cautious approach.
The comment was filed in response to an FCC public notice in CG docket 02-278 and WC docket 07-135. In that notice, the agency sought input on the National Association of Attorneys General’s request for clarification on telephone providers' legal ability to implement call-blocking technology as a means of addressing unwanted telemarketing calls.
In its public notice, the FCC noted that it does not allow carriers to block calls, except in "rare circumstances." It also asked for input on call-blocking technologies and their effectiveness and whether the use of such technologies could lead to impairment of common carrier services.
The FTC staff told the FCC that its "extensive study of this problem and its vigorous law enforcement efforts have shown that law enforcement alone cannot solve the problem of illegal calls. Rather, technological solutions are needed, and call-blocking technology is an integral part of those solutions."
An FCC ruling affirming that common carriers can offer call-blocking services to customers without violating common carriage obligations would likely make call-blocking technology more widely available to consumers.
"Such a ruling will allow common carriers to be more responsive to consumer demand and join other entities that already offer these services; will increase the likelihood that major US telephone carriers develop and actively market call-blocking technology to their large customer bases; will allow consumers who value this option to select telephone providers that offer call-blocking services; and will facilitate competition and innovation among carriers, as well as non-carriers, for new and better call-blocking technologies," the FTC staff said.
In conclusion, the FTC staff wrote, “An affirmative statement from the FCC that common carriers can offer call-blocking services to their consumers without violating their common carriage obligations would be in the best interest of American consumers.”
News: Privacy FederalTradeCommissionNews