Kentucky Attorney General Cameron Joins Coalition of Attorneys General in Letter to FCC Calling for Faster Implementation of Anti-Robocall Technology

Urging FCC To Move Up Deadline

                                    (File)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (August 9, 2021) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron today joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general in sending comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling for faster implementation of anti-robocall technology. The coalition urges the FCC to move up the deadline for certain small telephone companies to implement caller identification (caller ID) authentication technology.

"Phone companies that continue to funnel illegal robocalls to Kentuckians aid scammers in perpetrating fraud,” said Attorney General Cameron. “In 2020 alone, Kentuckians reported losing $1.2 million to phone scams, and robocalls are largely to blame. We joined this coalition in urging the FCC to expedite the deadline for certain phone companies to implement technology that will help cut down on the number of illegal robocalls and call spoofing.”

Under the TRACED Act, which became law in 2019, phone companies are required to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology on their networks, which is an industry-standard caller ID authentication technology. This technology helps ensure that telephone calls are originating from verified numbers, not spoofed sources. Large companies were required to implement the technology by June 2021, and smaller phone companies were originally given an extension until June 2023.

The letter notes that “a subset of small voice service providers are originating a high and increasing share of illegal robocalls relative to their subscriber base.” Without the STIR/SHAKEN technology in place, these smaller companies are failing to take a necessary step to minimize the continued onslaught of illegal robocalls that spam Americans and lead to financial or personal data loss.

As a result, the coalition has asked the FCC to require these companies to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology as soon as possible or by June 30, 2022.

Attorney General Cameron submitted the comments alongside the attorneys general of  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

To view a copy of the comments, click here.