Spam calls got you down? FCC seeks public input on new scorecard to rate phone providers

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday proposed a Robocall Scorecard aimed at showing consumers how well phone companies block illegal robocalls and spam texts, according to the FCC and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, per FOX Business. The agency said the plan is meant to help customers compare providers and push carriers to improve their defenses.

“Combatting the scourge of illegal robocalls remains the FCC's top consumer protection priority. And since I became chairman, we have been tackling the problem at every point of the call path,” Carr said, according to FOX Business. He added in the report that the scorecard would give consumers “more information about the measures providers are taking to fight illegal robocalls,” and “incentivize providers to improve their efforts.”

The FCC is now asking for public comment on how the scorecard should work, including which providers should be rated and how the grades should be presented.

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How the rating system could work

The proposal says the FCC wants to rate only domestic voice service providers with retail customers, including wireless, wireline, and VoIP carriers, as reported by PCMag. It would not cover providers that operate only as wholesale or intermediate carriers.

The agency is weighing whether to focus on the biggest providers or treat smaller regional carriers differently, according to the proposal described by PCMag. It is also asking whether the final system should use a percentage score, a number scale, letter grades, or banded tiers such as platinum, gold, and silver.

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According to FOX Business, the FCC says the system would likely use two broad kinds of measures: conduct-based metrics and outcome-based metrics. Conduct-based measures would look at whether a carrier offers tools to label or block robocalls and how it responds to traceback requests, while outcome-based measures would look at whether those steps actually reduce illegal robocalls reaching consumers, the report confirmed.

Outcome-based metrics could include consumer complaints filed with the FCC and Federal Trade Commission, the number or share of illegal robocalls received by customers, and data on blocked calls and false positives, according to the proposal.