FCC Has Collected Just $6,790 Since It Began Fining Robocallers

Report: FCC Has Collected Just $6,790 Since It Began Fining Robocallers

The Federal Communications Commission has collected just $6,790 since it began fining robocallers and other telemarketing violators in 2015, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

FCC regulators have ordered violators of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to pay $208.4 million, but the agency is having trouble collecting the fines.

The Journal reported Monday that the FTC is also having difficulty enforcing fines related to unwanted phone solicitations. The FTC has collected just $121 million out of $1.5 billion in fines related to court judgments since 2004.

Read more, at

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/11/11/report-fcc-has-collected-just-6790-since-it-began-fining-robocallers/

If this is really from the WSJ, I'd trust it.  But the link is to Breitbart, which no one rational trusts as a source.  Might be worth linking to the WSJ page.

WSJ has a paywall.  You either have a subscription to read the article.

FCC will never collect from those scammers. When they get caught, they close up their call centers and move to a new city under a different name. They are in business to steal your money, NOT show up in court or pay fines. I just can't wait until they start inserting that digital code into calls and if it is not a legit code, the calls do not go through. I could not care less about hitting scammers with fines. Just stop the damn calls. I get 3-4 a day, 7 days a week. I do not answer unknown calls and block them. But, I can only block 250 numbers and my block limit on my phone is filling up daily.

The story is seven months old and its alternate takes are not hard to find.

FCC “fined” robocallers $208 million since 2015 but collected only $6,790 - Ars Technica
Just $6,790 of $208 Million in Robocall Fines Have Been Collected By the FCC - Techdirt

Senate minority whip Dick Durbin and friends quoted the functionally weak fine when scolding the FCC in September:
Durbin, Duckworth Ask FCC To Step Up Prevention Of Robocalls - Durbin press release

Hi Res!

Thanks for the additional material!
Hopefully new technology will reduce the number of spam calls ... at least until the spammers learn how to defeat those defenses as well.

In the interim, we have the TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act):
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/151/text

But, that seems to be yet another fine levying policy, and yet another opportunity for the govt acronym makers (grin).

Oh ... it also includes the “STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework”  that might help, if the phone folks can settle on a common implementation.

The WSJ *used to be* a reliable source of news.  I was a subscriber for decades.  I noticed a *very* significant (and radical) editorial shift to the right a few years ago.  Upon investigation, I found that it was because the WSJ had been purchased by Rupert Murdoch.  The right shift now permeates the news sections too, so it's pretty much fake news trash now, much like the rest of the Murdoch family "news" properties.  Needless to say, I no longer subscribe.

What is the deal with the liberals in this thread that they have to be so self-righteous that instead of just reading a totally apolitical article about telemarketing, they make statements about how a given website it too conservative for their tastes?

Hilarious.  One of the biggest trolls on this site complaining about troll posts.  Not only that but you just made a post that was as much political as the posts you claim to be complaining about and to make it even worse you took the time to dredge up a 4 month old dormant thread to complain about.  One that would have remained buried had you not brought it to the forefront.

Even if this is an older thread that got unnecessarily necro'd, the original announcement isn't too surprising. How many times have the site's regulars discussed legal action taken against robo-callers where a substantial fine is part of the order but never paid because defendants almost immediately claim that they lack the money to pay it?  Even when the court lowers the fine's amount, it sure seems like nearly all of defendants don't pay anyways.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the best solution is to increase fine collections because the scum behind these robocalls appear to know all the loopholes that allow them to walk away paying nothing. Worse, they merely restart their robocalling operations under a new business name without missing a beat.

Update on the Bill mentioned earlier.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/151/text

    On 12/30/2019, it  Became Public Law No: 116-105.

Basically, the Law provides that
* violators will be subject to "forfeiture penalties"
* Providers of voice service to implement
               the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework in the internet
               protocol networks of the provider of voice service; and
                   (B) require a provider of voice service to take
               reasonable measures to implement an effective call
               authentication framework in the non-internet protocol
               networks of the provider of voice service.)
(STIR/SHAKEN will be implemented within 18 months of the enactment of the Act.)

Thanks for the update Slim.  Didn't this ACT also screw up the ability to go after them for using most auto dialers? If you know the answer great, but if not don't bother researching unless you really want too!

Maybe it's time to start fining the phone companies ...... start hitting their bottom line and watch things change, I still get 5-6 calls a day in 2020, this has been going on for way too long