The FCC could require operators to implement new authentication standards, similar to those recently adopted for robocalls. However, their effectiveness is still unclear
From robocalls to robotexts: US authorities have sought to tackle phone and online scams for several years. Automated nuisance calls (‘Robocalls’) have been the most pressing problem, with Americans receiving 4bn of them each month in 2020. In June, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required operators to implement new calling line authentication standards (STIR/SHAKEN) to make it harder for scammers to conceal their identity behind a different phone number. This week, the FCC has proposed new rules to tackle another rising threat – that of robotexts.
The details are yet to be worked out: The proposal builds on the rules adopted for robocalls, and would require mobile operators to block illegal texts before they reach the end user, in order to minimise the risk that they fall victim of malicious messages. The FCC still has to set out the details of the requirements it would impose. If adopted by a vote of the Commission, the proposed rulemaking would explore actions such as network-level blocking and applying caller authentication standards to text messages.
Similar measures could be adopted in the UK, though their effectiveness is still unclear: Regulators are confident that STIR/SHAKEN will help reduce the number of robocalls significantly, however its impact to date in the US is still unclear due to recent implementation and the fact that small VoIP providers have until June 2023 to adopt it. In the UK, Ofcom is considering mandating a similar requirement on operators, although this is unlikely to happen before the migration of voice services to IP, which is due to be completed by the mid-20s. Ofcom is working with industry to explore whether some elements of calling line authentication can be introduced sooner. The scale of the problem is increasing, with Ofcom reporting that complaints about nuisance calls and texts between September and December 2020 increased by 27% on the same period of 2019. Finding an effective solution will be crucial, considering that online scams cost UK consumers £177m in the second half of 2020 alone.
Source: https://www.fcc.gov/document/acting-chair-rosenworcel-proposes-rules-combat-rise-robotexts
