The FCC reportedly proposes new rules to crack down on scam texts. The regulators would now require wireless providers to block messages that are very much likely to be illegal, the agency stated.
The FCC Reportedly Proposes New Rules to Crack Down On Scam Texts
Chair of the Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday proposed the very first regulations that are aimed at protecting consumers directly from text-message scams.
The FCC said that if the rules are adopted they would require providers to block Robotech messages that “are highly likely to be illegal,” and this is including those that appear to be from phone numbers that are invalid, unallocated, or unused.
The New Rules Would Also Extend Do Not Call Registry Protections to Text Messaging
The new laid down rules would also extend Do Not Call registry protections to text messaging and would require wireless companies to provide a single point of contact for all senders of text.
Rosenworcel said that this was just the first action in the attack of the agency on scam texts. “We are going to keep at it and develop more ways to take on this growing consumer threat,” she stated.
Robokiller Estimates That an Average of Close to 478 Million Spam Texts
The call blocker app Robokiller estimates that an average of close to 478 million spam texts were sent in the previous month on a daily. Text scammers took IS consumers for over $86 million in 2020 alone which is the most recent year for which the data in question was available.
The Proposed Regulations by the FCC Will Be Addressed On March 16
The proposed regulations by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be addressed at the next monthly meeting by the agency on March 16.
