If you’re like me, you get multiple robocalls every single day, with no way to block them from getting through. That could soon change. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new legislation that would make it legal for carriers to block robocalls by default. In fact, the legislation may even require carriers to block robocalls.
The move could signal a huge change for how robocalls work in the United States, and could dial way back the frequency with which they occur. Specifically, the FCC is giving carriers the permission to deploy new tech that would target robocalls that hijack in-service numbers. The likes of Comcast, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are all working on developing this new tech, but according to the FCC, they may have stopped short of deploying it because they weren’t sure of the legal implications. Here’s what you need to know.
Many people aren’t aware, but there’s a good reason blocking spam calls wades into legally ambiguous territory. Because of the fact that spam callers often piggyback off of legitimate phone numbers, the laws are in place to prevent legitimate calls from being blocked. That could actually be a significant reason why robocalls are so common these days in the first place.
“Carriers don’t want to get sued if they block the wrong call and Grandma dies because she fell and tried to call her kids, but was blocked incorrectly as a bad robocaller,” Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, wrote in an email to Digital Trends. YouMail is a service that automatically blocks spam calls for users that are signed up to its service.
Of course, legal implications aren’t the only reason that robocalls aren’t being blocked by carriers — and the other may surprise you. The fact is, some people want some robocalls, but only some specific ones.
“You may want Comcast to call you with an appointment reminder, but I may not want a payment reminder from that same number,” continued Quilici. “Now what?” It could be tricky for carriers to differentiate between robocalls that some might want, like those from legitimate companies, and shadier spam robocalls.
The FCC has made initial steps to put an end to robocalls in the U.S., but the fact is that robocalls aren’t going to disappear right away. For starters, the FCC first has to consider its proposal at a June 6 meeting, and even if it’s approved, it may not go into effect right away.
Not only that, but if the FCC does create more protections for carriers trying to prevent robocalling, that doesn’t necessarily mean that carriers will put robocall-blocking tech into effect right away, or at all, unless the new legislation requires carriers to do so.
Quilici noted in our chat with him that carriers could easily clean up at least some robocalls. For starters, illegal numbers can and should be automatically blocked, whether it’s a robocall or not. Not only that, but caller ID could eventually play a larger role in preventing robocalls.
Even if carriers deploy tech to prevent robocalls, it’s unlikely the calls will ever go away altogether. But they could at least be significantly reduced, and hopefully, that will start to happen over the next year or so.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.