Apple, Google join hands to strike at Robocallers

More than 30 tech leaders including Google parent Alphabet, Apple and telecom service providers have joined hands to crack down on automated phone calls, Reuters reported.

The "Robocall Strike Force," a group led by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), held its first hearing on the subject in Washington DC on Friday. Both prerecorded messages from misleading phone numbers and automated text messages.

The FCC has roped in companies like Apple, Google's parent Alphabet, AT&T, and Verizon in an effort to end the nuisance of unsolicited calls playing prerecorded messages from advertisers including big corporations.

"We know there is a problem. We know how much consumers dislike these calls," said FCC commissioner Mignon L Clyburn. "We know the public is frustrated, because they assumed that after they registered for the 'Do Not Call' list, this would stop. It did not, so now it is time to take some real action."

The strike force is expected to submit its report to the FCC by 19th October with "concrete plans to accelerate the development and adoption of new tools and solutions," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, who is the chairman of the coalition.

These solutions could take the form of Caller ID verification standards capable of blocking spoofed phone numbers, as also a list of numbers from government agencies and banks that telemarketers would not be able to spoof.

The strike force would report to the FCC by 19 Ocotober on "concrete plans to accelerate the development and adoption of new tools and solutions," SReuters reported.

"This scourge must stop," Wheeler said yesterday calling robocalls the No 1 complaint from consumers.

"The bad guys are beating the good guys with technology," FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said. In the past, he has said robocalls continue "due in large part to industry inaction."