REGULATORY UPDATE >>
The Wireline Report
FCC’s stepped-up efforts to reduce robocalls. By Mary J. Sisak, Partner, Blooston Law (mjs@bloostonlaw.com)
by the FCC. If a portion of the calls received by the terminating VSP are authenticated, the safe harbor would be available for the blocking of calls from non-IP network, as well. To obtain the safe harbor, a VSP that blocks calls must designate a single point of contact for callers, as well as other VSPs, to report blocking errors at no charge. Blocking providers must investigate and resolve blocking disputes in a reasonable amount of time. Blocking providers must publish contact information clearly and conspicuously on their public-facing websites. The FCC declined to adopt a Critical Calls List as requested by AICC, finding that such a list would be subject to abuse and do more harm than good. The FCC released an order granting broad safe-harbor protections to voice service providers (VSPs) that block legitimate calls that the VSP identified as suspected fraudulent calls or unlawful robocalls. Over the past year, alarm companies have reported numerous instances when calls from the central station to the customer in connection with an alarm event were incorrectly blocked or mislabeled as fraud. The FCC’s order is intended to encourage more VSPs to block calls by protecting them from legal action when they block legitimate calls. It may also encourage VSPs to block calls, rather than label them as suspected fraud.
to resolve unintended or inadvertent blocking.
The FCC states that when blocking, VSPs should make all reasonable efforts to ensure that critical calls, such as those from Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), are not blocked and that they should never block calls to 911. Calls from alarm companies are not included in this protected group.
For purposes of this safe harbor, reasonable analytics may include blocking calls that are of low average call duration; where there are large bursts of calls in a short time frame; or where there is a large volume of complaints The safe harbor from liability is available related to a suspect line. Terminating to terminating VSPs that: VSPs must incorporate caller ID 1. Block calls based on reasonable authentication information into their analytics designed to identify reasonable analytics programs. At this unwanted calls, so long as those take time, only the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID into account information provided authentication framework satisfies this by STIR/SHAKEN; requirement. A number of VSPs have 2. Offer to consumers the ability to already implemented STIR/SHAKEN in opt-out of blocking; and the IP part of their networks and more 3. Furnish a single point of contact will do so by June 30, 2021, as required TMA Dispatch | Summer 2020
In the Order, the FCC also denied AICC’s Petition for Clarification or Reconsideration, in which AICC asked the Commission to clarify certain requirements in its previous call-blocking Declaratory Ruling. Among other things, AICC asked the FCC to clarify that alarm company notifications are the type of emergency communication the Commission cautions voice service providers must safeguard. Although the FCC recognized that “alarm company notifications can be extremely important, particularly when it is a question of whether to dispatch emergency services,” the FCC denied this request. Rather, the FCC encouraged alarm companies “to take advantage of our requirement in this Order that terminating voice service providers that block calls provide a single point of contact for call-blocking issues, and to educate their customers that alarm calls may be blocked if the customer chooses not to opt out of their voice service provider’s blocking program.” [32]
