Attorney General Becerra Announces Commitments from Three Additional Telecommunications Companies to Stop Robocalls

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, as part of a nationwide coalition of 51 attorneys general, announced that three additional telecommunications (telecom) providers have agreed to a set of principles intended to limit and prevent robocalls. The new telecom providers, California-based Twilio, Wabash, and Shentel join 12 providers who previously committed to the agreement. The agreement is the result of the Robocall Technologies Working Group, a coalition of attorneys general formed in 2018 . The group collaborated with telecom providers to make it more difficult for scammers to use robocall technologies to intrude upon and defraud consumers. The coalition also announced the results of the widespread implementation of the principles by the original signatories to the agreement.

The agreement now includes all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the following telecom companies: AT&T, Bandwidth, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated Communications, Frontier, Shentel, Sprint, T-Mobile, Twilio, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, Wabasah, and Windstream. 

“Robocalls are not only a nuisance for consumers, but are frequently a vehicle for fraudulent behavior that can lead to identity theft and financial loss,” said Attorney General Becerra. “We are pleased that three additional telecom companies have joined our fight to prevent scammers from using robocall technologies to harass Californians. The principles developed by the Robocall Technologies Working Group in collaboration with industry – and now implemented by telecom companies – represent an important step for consumer protection.”

Illegal and unwanted robocalls harm consumers and interrupt our daily lives. Consumer fraud often originates with a robocall. Robocalls and telemarketing calls are currently the number one source of consumer complaints to both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Comission (FTC). According to the FTC, consumers reported a total loss of $429 million as a result of these phone-based frauds during 2018 alone.

The efforts of the Robocall Technologies Working Group combat scams perpetrated through robocalls. When adopting the principles, the providers agree to:

• Offer free call blocking and labeling to stop robocalls before they reach consumers;
• Implement STIR/SHAKEN to prevent illegally spoofing phone numbers and to prevent scammers from providing a number they are not authorized to use;
• Analyze and monitor network traffic to identify and monitor patterns consistent with robocalls;
• Investigate suspicious calls and calling patterns and seek to identify the party and take appropriate action;
• Confirm the identity of commercial customers;
• Require traceback cooperation in call interconnection contracts;
• Cooperate in traceback investigations by dedicating resources to respond to requests from law enforcement and the US Telecom’s Industry Traceback Group; and
• Communicate with state attorneys general about scams and trends in illegal robocalling.

Attorney General Becerra is committed to protecting California consumers from unwanted robocalls. In August, Attorney General Becerra announced the commitment from the original 12 telecom providers to participate in the Robocall Technologies Working Group. He also repeatedly called on the FCC to take action to stop robocalls. Attorney General Becerra joined a bipartisan comment letter in support of the FCC’s proposed rule to improve and expand the prohibition on “caller ID spoofing.” Later, he urged the FCC to block robocalls made from fake or “spoofed” caller ID numbers. He continues to urge the FCC to take actions consistent with the agreement between state attorneys general and telecommunications carriers. In addition, Attorney General Becerra secured a $53.25 million judgement against Dish Network after it engaged in illegal telemarketing calls to consumers on the Do Not Call registry.

A copy of the agreement can be found here.