Commission takes more action against scam callers
As we have previously reported, the Federal Communications Commission (“the Commission”) continues to take aggressive action to curb the flow of illegal robocalls. On November 10, 2022, the European Commission’s Enforcement Agency issued a public notice pursuant to Section 64.1200(k)(4) — colloquially known as the “K4 Notice” — for all US-based voice service provider. May Block voice calls or stop accepting traffic from Urth Access, LLC (“Urth”) without liability. According to the notice, Urth was the originator of a large number of apparently fraudulent student loan-related robocalls. The K4 notice warned voice service providers that continuing to accept or facilitate traffic from Urth could result in enforcement action, including removal from the Robocall Mitigation Database. This means that intermediate and terminating providers will not be able to accept traffic from removed voice. service provider. In conjunction with the K4 notice, the Enforcement Bureau directs Urth to investigate and, if necessary, to stop sending illegal traffic and take necessary steps to prevent continued abuse of its network. A notice of suspension has been issued. Source of illegal robocalls. As in any other case, if Urth fails to comply with the cease and desist letter, the Bureau of Enforcement may issue subsequent orders directing other providers to block all traffic originating from Urth. I have.
The Bureau of Enforcement’s action against Urth, like other recent actions, was an example of the commission pursuing the original provider rather than taking action against the party making the illegal call. The Commission appears to believe these actions will further advance the agency’s efforts to eliminate illegal robocalls. We used our partnership with call blocking company YouMail to assist the Bureau of Enforcement’s investigation.
In announcing the action, Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel noted that the Commission is using the K4 Notice approach to increase the speed of targeting bad actors, stating: . We will not hesitate to use it again to prevent these scam calls from going through and reaching our consumers. Her Loyaan A. Egal, Director of Law Enforcement, echoed these sentiments and explained:[t]Law enforcement agencies continue to pursue innovative tactics within their legal mandate to combat fraudulent robocallers. By precisely targeting the source, they are fighting to robocall bad actors and disrupt their operational capabilities. [The November 10th] Action is an example of this strategy. ”
The committee will set a comment deadline for non-IP call authentication.
As announced last month, at a public meeting in October, the Commission adopted a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) seeking information on non-IP technologies in the national telephone network. At the NOI, the Commission set deadlines for comments and reply comments as 12 December 2022 and 11 January 2023 respectively.
As we discussed last month, current regulations typically require providers with non-IP networks to either upgrade their networks to IP or participate in industry efforts to develop non-IP caller ID authentication solutions. However, NOI proposed industry feedback on a number of alternative approaches, including requiring implementation of one or both of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (“ATIS”) standards for non-IP network caller ID authentication, I’m looking for Encourage or require other (unidentified) protocols or upgrades to IP networks in existing non-IP networks. In addition, the Commission is requesting information on the security of ATIS standards and updates on the progress of the nation’s transition to all-IP networks.
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