FCC Archives

Advocates Oppose Perdue for Senate Campaign Effort to Greenlight Ringless Voicemail

October 6, 2021

October 6, 2021 WASHINGTON — This week, a group of national organizations submitted comments to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in opposition to a request for a declaratory ruling submitted by Perdue for Senate, Inc. The groups argued that the campaign seeks a ruling that would allow unfettered voicemail messages to swamp consumers’ cellphones. The…

Federal Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program to Launch Wednesday

May 11, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2021 Program aims to bring affordable broadband internet service to low-income households WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tomorrow, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will launch the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, a temporary FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford broadband internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates at the…

Supreme Court Deals Blow to Protections Against Robocalls; Advocates Urge Congress to Act to Prevent a Tsunami of Unwanted Calls and Texts to Cellphones

April 1, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 1, 2021 Washington, D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that nullifies one of the most important protections against unwanted robocalls: the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition against autodialed calls and texts to cellphones without the called party’s consent. In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, the Court interpreted the statute’s…

FCC Issues Order Limiting Invasive Robocalls to Landline Phones

January 4, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 4, 2021 Washington, D.C. – On December 30, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order that will significantly reduce invasive and unwanted calls made with a prerecorded or artificial voice to landline phones. The changes, effective June 30, 2021, are made through new rules which will be fully enforceable under…

New FCC Ruling Supports Advocates’ Petition Urging it to Stop Unwanted Robocalls from Federal Contractors but Leaves Gray Area Regarding States’ Role

December 15, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order granting in part a Petition for Reconsideration filed by the National Consumer Law Center on behalf of a broad coalition of national, state and local legal services groups challenging the agency’s 2016 Broadnet Declaratory Ruling. The 2016 FCC…

Consumer Groups Demand Review of FCC Ruling that the Calling Industry Claims Will Allow Millions More Unsolicited Text Messages and Calls to Consumers’ Cellphones

July 24, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2020 Advocates seek review of the Declaratory Ruling issued by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, which blesses P2P texting platforms invented to evade consumer protections WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer groups, led by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) on behalf of its low-income clients, today filed an appeal with…

Consumer Groups Support FCC Allowing Limited Automated Calls Related to COVID-19 from Lenders to Customers

April 10, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Six national consumer groups, including the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income client), filed comments with the FCC supporting part of the petition by the American Bankers Association and other lenders petition to make automated calls from the institutions to alert their customers to callers’ offers related to the…

Robot Calls (prerecorded audio clips) Are Prerecorded Calls. And the FCC Agrees.

October 21, 2019

Prolific robocaller Yodel Technologies seeks exemption for making over 77 million unwanted and illegal telemarketing calls using AI and prerecorded voice messages. WASHINGTON – Yodel Technologies (Yodel) seeks to escape liability by petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an exemption for its “robot calls.” Using its “soundboard” technology to mimic a consumer’s interaction with…

Consumer Groups Praise Overwhelming House Passage of Strong Anti-Robocalls Bill

July 24, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives struck a strong bipartisan blow against robocalls plaguing consumers today with a near-unanimous 429 – 3 vote to pass H.R. 3375, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act. The bill takes major steps to curb abusive robocalling by adopting important new consumer protections including: Requiring clear FCC regulations to…

Bipartisan House Bill Moves Forward in the Fight to Stop Unwanted Robocalls

July 17, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 17, 2019 Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed unanimously (48-0) the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (HR 3375). The bipartisan bill was introduced in June by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and…

Bipartisan House Bill is a Significant Step Forward in the Fight to Stop Unwanted Robocalls

June 20, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 20, 2019 Washington, D.C. – Today, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill is also sponsored by Rep. Mike…

FCC Approves Phone Companies Proactively Blocking Robocalls

June 6, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2019 National Consumer Law Center Senior Attorney Margot Saunders issues statement on FCC proposal calling it “a meaningful first step, but not a magic bullet.” WASHINGTON, D.C.–Today, the FCC unanimously approved a proposal to grant phone service providers the authority to proactively block robocalls that its analysis determines are automated…

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