The U.S. government is planning to take aim at the scourge of unwelcome phone calls and spam text messages plaguing millions of consumers—but one of its proposals drew sharp rebukes, with critics concerned that it could enable telecom giants to censor legitimate communications.
As The Washington Post reports, the first measure announced by the Federal Communications Commission aims to create a national database containing information about phone numbers that have recently been disconnected and reassigned to someone else. The effort aims to help businesses, such as banks and pharmacies, avoid dialing the wrong customers repeatedly.
The second, more controversial measure, however, would give text messaging the same legal status as high-speed Internet, in effect offering wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon added leeway to block and filter text messages they recognize as spam.
Combined, the two proposals could cut down on unwanted robo-calls and texts by empowering telecom companies to fight spam and by placing renewed expectations on businesses to look before they dial, says FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who will bring the measures up for a vote in December.
