FCC Moves to Crack Down on Spam Texts
The FCC is finally working to crack down on spam text messages sent to users’ phones.
On Tuesday, the US regulator kicked off the formal process to introduce new rules(Opens in a new window) to stop “malicious robotext campaigns,” which can bombard cell phones with SMS messages.
“The American people are fed up with scam texts, and we need to use every tool we have to do something about it,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in the announcement.
In 2020, the FCC received about 14,000 consumer complaints about unwanted text messages, an increase of 146% from the year before. In 2021, complaints increased again to 15,300. Spam text messages can promote scams or trick users into downloading malware. The FCC says(Opens in a new window) consumers lost $86 million to robotext scams in 2020; the median amount lost per victim was $800.
In response, the FCC is looking at forcing cellular providers to block spam text messages, like they're already required to do for robocalls. The FCC proposal would mandate that cellular providers block texts that come from “invalid, unallocated, or unused number or on the Do-Not Originate List,” along with spam texts from spoofed phone numbers.
“We also believe that increases in illegal texts may be a result of our work to stop unwanted calls —incentivizing scammers and others to shift to texting,” the FCC notes.
In addition, the Commission wants to require cellular providers to block the spam text without requiring users to go through the hassle of opting in or opting out. But before the FCC considers implementing the rules, the Commission will first take input from the public and industry stakeholders on which measures could be effective or problematic.
The FCC’s proposal adds:
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