Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Declaratory Ruling that will allow phone service providers to block robocalls by default. Reasonable call analytics will be used by the services providers to determine if default blocking will be allowed. There is currently no clarification of what constitutes "reasonable" or "wanted" which puts the burden on phone carriers to devise their own standard for identifying robocalls and unwanted calls.
"There is one thing in our country today that unites Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, socialists and libertarians, vegetarians and carnivores, Ohio State and Michigan fans: It is that they are sick and tired of being bombarded by unwanted robocalls," says FCC Chairman Pai. "My message to the American people today is simple. We hear you, and we are on your side."
Phone carriers have no obligation to notify companies when their calls are being blocked. Likewise, there is nothing stopping phone companies from charging consumers additional fees for the service of blocking calls.
