Governor Andrew Cuomo is taking aim at robocalls.
It’s the 17th proposal that’s part of his State of the State agenda. The proposal will require telecommunication companies to deploy technology that blocks robocalls and provide the state with new tools to unmask those who falsify and hide identity via spoofed calls.
Companies that don’t comply will face steep financial penalties, according to Governor Cuomo.
“New Yorkers pay good money for their phone service but are still being hounded by millions of robocalls every day. With this measure, we’re saying to telecom companies – get off the sidelines and stop transmitting these harassing calls to your customers or we will hold you accountable,” Governor Cuomo said. “Illegal robocallers will not be let off the hook either, and we are stepping up enforcement and doubling fines against anyone who violates New York’s ‘Do Not Call’ Law.”
The Governor laid out his plan in a press release on Tuesday:
Require Telephone Providers to Block Robocalls or be Held Responsible
“New York consumers pay phone providers money every month for their service, yet these companies allow millions of abusive and deceptive calls to pass onto their consumers every day. Under the Governor’s proposal, telecommunication providers will be required to deploy the best robocall blocking technology available to consumers by default. Right now, some companies offer the technology only upon request, if at all. Companies that fail to deploy these best efforts to stop robocalls will be held accountable and subject to investigation and fines of up to $100,000 a day by the Department of Public Service or the State Division of Consumer Protection.”
Require Rapid Implementation of Call Authentication Technology to Flag Questionable Callers
“Under the Governor’s proposal, every telephone service provider will be required to fully implement STIR/SHAKEN protocol, an industry-based call authentication protocol as soon as possible. The STIR/SHAKEN protocol was developed by the telecommunications industry to provide additional caller ID information on all phone numbers, including those not originating from New York numbers, and warn consumers of potential scams and robocalls. Most telephone service providers previously committed to deploying this technology but to date many have shown little to no progress on implementation.”
Double Penalties Against Robocallers for “Do Not Call” Law Violations
“New York’s “Do Not Call” Law, provides the State Division of Consumer Protection enforcement authority to track down and penalize bad actors who make unsolicited calls to New Yorkers who have signed up with the State’s Do Not Call Registry. In addition to the up to $100,000 a day penalty to telecommunication companies for failure to block robocalls, the Governor is proposing doubling the current maximum fines for “Do Not Call” violators from $11,000 per call to up to $22,000 per call.”
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