A bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general, led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, has urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement more stringent regulations against illegal robocalls. The group argues that current measures are insufficient to stop the high volume of scam calls reaching consumers, calling for mandatory call-blocking technology at the network level and stricter requirements for voice service providers to verify the origins of traffic.
The Push for Network-Level Blocking
The attorneys general are advocating for a shift in how the industry handles suspicious traffic. In a formal letter submitted to the FCC, the coalition requested that the commission require all voice service providers to implement "network-level call blocking" for calls that are highly likely to be illegal.
According to the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), the states contend that waiting for individual consumers to install filtering apps or rely on carrier-specific tools is an inadequate defense against sophisticated spoofing operations. The coalition’s proposal suggests that if a provider knows or should know that traffic is illegal—such as calls originating from invalid numbers or those that violate existing standards—they should be mandated to block that traffic before it reaches the end user.
Strengthening Provider Accountability
A central pillar of the coalition’s argument is the enforcement of the STIR/SHAKEN framework. This set of protocols is designed to authenticate caller IDs and ensure that the information displayed to a recipient is accurate.
The attorneys general argue that while many providers have adopted these protocols, the system is still being bypassed by bad actors. They are urging the FCC to:
- Enforce stricter "know your customer" protocols for voice service providers, ensuring that providers verify the identity and legitimacy of the entities they allow onto their networks.
- Close loopholes that allow domestic providers to act as gateways for international scam operations.
- Expand the scope of the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database, making it harder for non-compliant providers to continue operating within the U.S. telecommunications ecosystem.
Why Prior Federal Efforts Face Criticism
The coalition’s move comes amid ongoing frustration regarding the effectiveness of previous FCC initiatives. While the FCC has taken several steps since the passage of the TRACED Act in 2019, state officials argue that the pace of enforcement has not kept up with the evolution of AI-generated voice scams and automated dialing technology.
Data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consistently ranks unwanted calls as one of the top consumer complaints in the United States. The attorneys general emphasize that current federal rules often place the burden of vigilance on the consumer, whereas they believe the burden should rest on the telecommunications companies that facilitate the transmission of these calls.
Looking Ahead: Regulatory Challenges
The FCC is currently reviewing these proposals as part of its ongoing efforts to combat illegal spoofing. Any new rule changes would likely face opposition from some industry groups, which have previously raised concerns about the potential for "false positives"—where legitimate business or emergency calls are accidentally blocked by automated systems.
For consumers, the outcome of this petition will determine whether they receive more robust, automated protection from their carriers or if the current system of reactive filtering remains the standard. The FCC has not yet set a timeline for a final decision on the new mandates proposed by the 49 attorneys general.