FCC to Grade Carriers on Robocall Countermeasures
The FCC plans to introduce a robocall mitigation scorecard to grade carriers on their spam call blocking performance.
Based on an article reported by Jon Brodkin for Ars Technica.
The Federal Communications Commission today said it will create a robocall mitigation scorecard to rate phone companies on how effectively they block illegal spam calls.
The FCC said scorecards could grade providers on a number scale, with letter grades, or by classifying providers as low risk, medium risk, or high risk.
Combatting the scourge of illegal robocalls remains the FCC’s top consumer protection priority… As proposed in today’s public notice, the FCC aims to develop a scorecard that will give consumers more information about the measures providers are taking to fight illegal robocalls, and it will also incentivize providers to improve their efforts,
Editorial Opinion
In the short term, carriers and consumer groups are expected to actively participate in the public comment process on the design of the scorecard. Whether the evaluation metrics will include the rate of erroneous blocking of legitimate calls is likely to be a focal point. If the method of publication and discoverability are inadequate, its appeal to consumers will be limited. As with performance visualization cases such as Linux Cache Aware Scheduling Extension Boosts MySQL Performance by Up to 360%, the importance of metric design suggests that the measurement methodology will determine the outcome.
In the long term, visualizing blocking performance could spur competition among carriers and raise the overall standard of spam call countermeasures. If unified metrics that span wireless, wireline, and VoIP become established, consumers will be able to make objective comparisons when choosing a provider. If linked with enforcement actions by regulators, it could function as an effective deterrent.
The question is how to ensure the reliability of the data on which the scorecard is based. The results could vary significantly depending on whether emphasis is placed on self-reporting by carriers, third-party measurements, or complaint data. Whether a design that balances both transparency and verifiability can be achieved is likely to be a key issue going forward.
References
- “FCC plans robocall scorecard to grade phone companies on spam call blocking”, by Jon Brodkin — Ars Technica, 2026-09-02T19:54:27.000Z (CC BY-NC-ND)
- Source URL: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/fcc-plans-robocall-scorecard-to-grade-phone-companies-on-spam-call-blocking/
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the FCC's robocall mitigation scorecard?
- It is a system for evaluating how effectively voice service providers block illegal spam calls. Proposals would grade providers using blocking statistics, customer complaints, enforcement actions, and other data, with numerical scores, letter grades, or classifications as low, medium, or high risk.
- Which providers will be evaluated?
- Domestic voice service providers with retail customers are covered, including wireless, wireline, and VoIP providers. Providers that only offer wholesale or intermediate services are excluded.
- What are the challenges for the scorecard?
- Whether it will be useful to consumers depends on its design, discoverability, and the data sources it relies on. The FCC is seeking public comment on data sources, and the development of composite metrics that include the erroneous blocking of legitimate calls is a key issue.
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