Last month the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took steps to spare American consumers the daily inundation of unwanted robocalls by adopting new rules to close the “lead generator” robocall loophole. These unwanted calls have become the top complaint from consumers to the FCC, and the FCC has issued this guidance for people seeking an end to – or at least a major decrease in – unwanted robocalls and robotexts.

The most significant of the new rules for consumers makes it so a single consent no longer applies to numerous telemarketers simultaneously: lead generators and comparison-shopping websites must have consent from consumers to receive robocalls and robotexts, and these calls and texts must be sent one seller per call or text.

Per these new rules, the FCC will now be empowered to “red flag” certain numbers; this process will require mobile carriers to block texts from these numbers. The FCC will also make it illegal for telemarketers to send texts to numbers on the U.S. Do Not Call Registry.

“We need to find every way we can under the law to stop these junk robocalls and robotexts from reaching us on our devices, and because scam artists are nimble we need to regularly update our policies to stop this stuff from coming over the line,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We make clear that when the Federal Communications Commission identifies a number sending this junk, carriers must block texts from that number before they reach your phone.  Likewise, we make clear the national registry to prevent unwanted calls applies not only to calls but also to texts.” 

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