FCC Ringless Voicemail Petition Is Dead
A company seeking to exempt ringless voicemails from rules that govern the use of robocalls has withdrawn the petition it submitted to the FCC. A marketing firm called All About the Message filed the petition in March, asking the FCC to declare that ringless voicemails aren’t actually calls. The petition contends that because the voicemails don’t […]
No Call For Ringless Voicemails
There aren’t many things that you can get broad consensus on these days, but one of them is that telemarketing and political robocalls are terrible. Some of them are illegal, all of them are annoying, and if some influential groups get their way, these calls will soon take a form that’s even more invasive and irksome. There […]
Ringless Voicemails May Become the New Robocalls
Federal regulators are working on various methods to block robocalls, both to landlines and to mobile phones, with varying degrees of success. As those technologies make their way into the marketplace, some companies now are looking for clearance from the FCC to deliver their messages directly to customers’ voicemails without ringing their phones. The commission is considering […]
Senate Bill Seeks to Reinstate Broadband Privacy Rule
Now that President Trump has signed into law legislation that eliminates an FCC rule that prevented broadband providers from selling users’ private information, some members of Congress have introduced a new bill that would restore the rule. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has drafted the bill and introduced it in the Senate in the hopes of […]
Users Face Uncertain Future After Rollback of Broadband Privacy Rule
The House of Representatives on Tuesday to repeal a set of landmark privacy protections for Internet users, issuing a total rebuke of Internet policies enacted under the Obama administration. Privacy advocates had worked frantically to urge voters to contact their representatives about the resolution, which allows broadband providers to sell customers’ data without prior consent. The […]
Those IRS Scam Calls May Disappear Soon
The FCC has moved one step closer to implementing a system that would prevent robocalls that spoof the caller ID of numbers that don’t initiate outbound calls, a move that could significantly reduce the volume of scam calls reaching businesses and consumers. The commission on Thursday issued a notice that seems public comment on the concept of […]
Most Commercial Robotexts Illegal, FCC Warns
The FCC is warning consumers, as well as marketers, that robotexts sent by autodialers to mobile phones are illegal and the commission says it will be cracking down on the practice. Robotexts are the younger cousin of the robocalls that have been plaguing consumers and businesses for a long time. Whereas robocalls typically are made […]
AT&T Hit With $6.8 Million Fine in Cramming Investigation
AT&T will pay nearly $7 million in restitution to consumers who were victims of a scam in which a couple of sham companies were allowed to bill wireline customers for fake district assistance services without their consent or knowledge. The settlement is the result of an investigation that began when the Drug Enforcement Administration was looking […]
FCC Pressures Carriers to Block Robocalls
The FCC is putting new pressure on both wireless carriers and traditional phone companies to give customers technology to block unwanted robocalls. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has told the carriers that they need to give their customers the option to block robocalls, which have become the largest source of complaints that the commission receives. The FCC […]