Merkley, Walden take on plague of robocalls

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) on Tuesday introduced the Regulatory Oversight Barring Obnoxious (ROBO) Calls and Texts Act of 2019 . Meanwhile, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said at a House hearing that Americans have “had it” with the robocall problem, which he said needs an “all hands on deck” approach.

Amid growing frustration from Americans whose cell phone are being bombarded on a daily basis, this legislation would crack down on unwanted and frequently predatory calls and text messages by creating a new division within the Enforcement Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, the Robocall Division.

“Hardly a week goes by that I don’t get scam calls or texts or my phone, and sadly, most Americans today can say the same,” said Merkley. “These calls are a nuisance at best, and at worst, downright predatory–threatening to put Americans in jail or cut off their Social Security if the recipient doesn’t hand over financial information. Right now, robocalls are the wild west, and consumers are paying the price for this chaos. It’s time for a concerted effort to restore order and sanity to our cell phones.”

“Americans received a staggering 48 billion robocalls last year alone, and the incessant harassment worsens daily,” Rep. Eshoo said. “It’s time for Congress to force regulators to act. The ROBO Calls and Texts Act ensures the Trump Administration moves quickly to go after bad actors while compelling providers to adopt technological standards to prevent robocalls.”

In a recent congressional hearing, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel testified that robocalls are currently the single largest source of consumer complaints at the FCC, and she advocated for the creation of a dedicated division in the Enforcement Bureau to combat robocalls. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has also confirmed that robocalls are the No. 1 source of complaints coming into the agency.

“The growing volume of robocalls is insane. It’s no wonder that these annoying calls are the number one complaint the FCC receives from consumers across the country,” said Commissioner Rosenworcel. “I’ve long believed that the agency should be organized around the issues that matter to consumers most. So kudos to Senator Merkley and Representative Eshoo for introducing this legislation to require a new robocall division at the FCC. This is a good idea to help halt the scourge of robocalls and the time to do it is now.”

Specifically, the Robocall Division created by the ROBO Calls and Texts Act would:

Ensure consumer protection and compliance with federal laws relating to public safety and robocalls; Serve as a line of communication between the federal government and the communications industry to coordinate efforts to combat robocalls on both sides; Serve as a line of communication between the FCC and other related federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; and Actively manage consumer complaints regarding robocalls and address those complaints in a timely manner.

The FCC would also be assigned the following new responsibilities:

Promulgate rulemaking to compel telecommunications providers to adopt technological standards to prevent robocalls no later than 90 days after enactment and periodically thereafter as appropriate; Dedicate a portion of staff to conduct research that advances robocall blocking technology; and Develop and provide to the general public, educational resources and materials that inform consumers of the risks associated with robocalls.

The ROBO Calls and Texts Act is supported by the National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients; the Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Action; and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

Meanwhile, Walden said at a House hearing Tuesday that he is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to end this problem that he said has grown from an annoyance to a sincere peril. He noted that in just one year, American consumers received 2.4 billion robocalls per month and nearly half the calls made to cell phones in the United States in 2019 will be spam.

“I have done 20 town halls in my district so far this year, and I can’t think of a time that this question didn’t come up about what we are doing to stop robocalls,” Walden said during a hearing before the Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday. “This has escalated to a real problem for consumers, and they’ve had it. And they’ve rightfully had it, and we’ve had it. So you’re seeing an all hands on deck approach here.”

Last Congress, Walden helped pass into law the RAY BAUM’S Act, which prohibited spoofing calls or texts originating outside the United States and provided the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) more authority to protect consumers from robocalls. The RAY BAUM’S Act also required the FCC to work with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to educate Americans about their options to stop these illegal calls.

These robocalls come from bad actors who use autodialing technology to scam consumers, often by maliciously “spoofing” their caller ID information to mask the caller’s true identity and instead make the call appear like it is coming from a local source.

One witness who works in the health care industry testified during Tuesday’s hearing that robocalls also threaten patients and medical providers.

“In recent months, many consumers, including some patients and their families, have been targeted by robocallers who use ‘spoofed’ numbers identical to the hospitals in an effort to gain sensitive information,” said David Summit, Chief Technology Officer of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. “Even more concerning is that this practice can jeopardize the line of communication between health providers and patients by casting doubt on the integrity of calls coming from the hospital or their care provider.”

Hard-working Americans have also been tricked into picking up countless calls like this and then have been bullied into paying what they think is an outstanding debt, only to send money or some other form of compensation to the fraudster who maliciously spoofed the phone number with the intent to deceive and scam. Walden highlighted the need for Congress to redouble efforts to crack down on the bad actors perpetrating these crimes.

“Bad actors’ tricks evolved beyond our Do Not Call Registry and will likely find an avenue around our next effort. So we need to stay vigilant,” said Walden. “The more friction that we create against these criminals – and I call them criminals because that’s what they are – and the more focused public-private partnerships amongst industry, consumer groups, and the government are in rooting out this problem, I think we can make real strides here in helping American consumers.”

To learn more about Tuesday’s hearing, entitled “Legislating to Stop the Onslaught of Annoying Robocalls,” click here.