FCC plans robocall scorecard to grade phone companies on spam call blocking

The FCC is seeking public comment on what sources of data to use for the robocall scorecard. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission’s only Democrat, said the “scorecard could increase consumer awareness of how providers fight illegal robocalls” if it includes “the right information.” The robocall scorecard won’t be the first FCC initiative designed to give consumers useful data about telecom providers. The FCC requires Internet providers to display pricing information on publicly accessible broadband labels, though Carr recently led a vote to stop requiring that ISPs list all their discretionary fees on those labels. Consumer advocacy groups are likely to weigh in on the call for public comments, and so are phone companies that won’t want the scorecards to rate them poorly. The docket is available at this FCC webpage. “We applaud the FCC’s possible renewed interest in cracking down on scam and spam robocalls. The FCC’s efforts have been disappointing for years, going back to even before Congress passed the robocall crackdown law in 2019,” Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), told Ars today. Murray, who wrote a report in February 2025 grading providers on their blocking efforts, said she is concerned about what information the FCC will use and whether it will be useful to consumers. “Phone customers should absolutely feel empowered to speak with their wallets if they’re unhappy with their phone service,” Murray told Ars. “But switching cellphone or VoIP providers isn’t as easy as choosing to shop at a different grocery store next week, even if someone isn’t in a phone contract. Maybe the point of the scorecard would be to shame providers into doing better. And that would be a good thing.” The FCC proposed measuring the accuracy of blocking tools and is seeking comment on how to do that. The proposed tool would rate providers both on blocking illegal robocalls and on avoiding erroneous blocking of legitimate calls. “Data on provider blocking practices specifically, tracked over time, may also help identify which approaches are most effective at minimizing erroneous blocking of legitimate calls while still stopping illegal robocalls, and could inform best practices across the industry,” the FCC said. Other proposed sources of data include FCC enforcement actions; filings with the Robocall Mitigation Database, in which providers certify their implementation of STIR/SHAKEN technology for Caller ID verification; and data from the Industry Traceback Group, a telecom industry group that traces the sources of illegal robocalls. Murray said she wants scorecard information to include traceback requests and complaints about phone companies that have potentially violated state or federal laws; warnings issued by the FCC or state attorneys general to phone providers about patterns of illegal calls; and specific details about companies’ deployment of STIR/SHAKEN. The scorecard should show whether there are “services the company can legally offer to help customers that the company isn’t offering or it’s charging for,” Murray said. Phone companies should have to disclose the scorecards in prominent places, like their websites, billing statements, or marketing materials, she said. “Perhaps this is just the start of a new conversation about what regulators and lawmakers can do about this horrific problem,” Murray said, noting that victims of phone scams have suffered “devastating losses,” while phone users in general face “daily annoyances of unwanted robocalls.”