FCC To Shame Annoying Telemarketers And Robocallers Into Decency By Publishing

Those who create dialer apps, for example, can blacklist the numbers from the start, and consumers who use them will either never know they received the call, or will simply get a notification that a blocked number attempted to make contact. Companies may use data like this to further improve their services in determining what calls and texts a consumer might choose to block or filter (i.e. sent directly to voicemail).

While hefty sanctions may have hit the headlines, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) competitions to find new technological solutions may have uncovered a few innovative thinking, the robocalls have continued.

In addition to providing data for robocall-blocking technology developers, the FCC uses consumer complaints to inform policy decisions, and also to support enforcement actions.

The FCC said consumer complaints about unwanted calls or texts are vital to improving do-not-call technologies.

The goal of the initiative is to give both carriers and third-party developers the tools they need to develop ways to help consumers block out unwanted phone calls.

The data will be made available on the FCC’s Consumer Help Center’s website.

The move follows the FCC’s June approval of do-not-disturb technologies. According to the FCC, this comes about as complaints about unwanted calls are starting to increase, with 2014 yielding a whopping 215,000 complaints alone. A spreadsheet with the latest data is available for download below.

For more information on the tools available to consumers in combatting unwanted calls and texts, the Commission has a consumer guide.

The data will be published weekly.

The Commission added that it does not verify all the facts in the complaints that it receives.