Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, along with 38 other attorneys general, urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday to review the use of call-blocking technologies that enable consumers to prevent unwanted telemarketing calls.
McDaniel and his fellow attorneys general asked the FCC to rule on whether carriers can block telemarketing calls at a customer’s request. Some phone companies have said the FCC’s legal framework prohibits the carriers from determining which calls should be blocked.
“My office has aggressively pursued lawsuits against ‘robocallers’ and taken steps to help consumers fend off annoying telemarketing calls, but my office alone can’t end this problem,” McDaniel said. “We now have emerging technologies that appear to be able to identify a telemarketing call and stop it before it reaches a consumer. It’s important that states, the federal government and phone companies work cooperatively to determine how these new tools can benefit consumers.”
Telephone companies have been reluctant to implement new call-blocking technology such as NoMoRobo, Call Control and Telemarketing Guard because of their legal concerns.
Until the issue is resolved, McDaniel is encouraging consumers to sign up for the free federal Do Not Call Registry, which accepts residential and wireless phone numbers.