In a January 8th 2025 letter the FCC cited that participation in U.S. phone networks comes with a responsibility to actively mitigate the risk of scam traffic reaching consumers.

Attorney Generals from 47 states wrote the Commission in support of strong regulatory actions to strengthen the FCC’s database rules. In their letter, they say the Robocall Mitigation Database is an essential resource in State AGs’ efforts to combat illegal robocalls. However, too often the information submitted by providers to the RMD is clearly false or inaccurate and demonstrates contempt for the Commission’s requirements and the consumers those requirements protect.

What Now?

The Commission Report and Order increases accountability by requiring timely updates to company information, and instituting base fines of $10,000 for submitting false or inaccurate information, and $1,000 for failure to keep information current. The Report and Order also requires providers to re-certify annually to the accuracy of their submissions and adopts a $100 filing fee.

With almost all of the country’s enforcement chiefs in agreement for tighter regulations, it is apparent that STIR/SHAKEN has not succeeded in putting a major dent in the bad actors who are harassing and stealing from Americans. The Call Screening Service from Innovative Systems has for years been a front-line defender against robocallers and telemarketers stopping hundreds of thousands of bad actors from getting through to landline phones. A significant portion of landline users are older individuals, making them particularly susceptible to phone scams due to factors like trust, potential cognitive decline, and less familiarity with modern technology, often leading to substantial financial losses when they fall victim to fraudulent calls.