FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
July 22, 2015
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE CALLS ON PHONE CARRIERS
TO OFFER CALL-BLOCKING TECHNOLOGY TO CUSTOMERS
(MONTGOMERY)– Attorney General Luther Strange today joined 44 other state Attorneys
General calling on five major phone companies to offer call-blocking technology to their wireless
and landline customers. In a joint letter to the chief executives of the carriers, the attorneys general
said a new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule clarification allows telecommunication
service providers to offer customers the ability to block unwanted calls, and verifies that federal law
does not prohibit offering the services.
In the letter to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and CenturyLink, the Attorneys General
stated, “Every year, our offices are flooded with consumer complaints pleading for a solution to stop
intrusive robocalls. Your companies are now poised to offer your customers the help they need. We
urge you to act without delay.”
Attorney General Strange said phone carriers had previously claimed they could not offer
such services. At a July 2013 hearing before a Senate subcommittee, representatives from the US
Telecom Association and CTIA testified that “legal barriers prevent carriers from implementing
advanced call-blocking technology to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls.” CTIA is
The Wireless Association, formerly known as the Cellular Telephone Industries Association. On
June 18, 2015, the FCC voted to pass a rule clarifying that phone companies are allowed to use call-
blocking technologies to block unwanted calls and texts.
“Now that the FCC has made clear that phone companies may use call-blocking, we are
calling on these companies to assist in our fight against unwanted, annoying and sometimes
expensive phone calls and texts,” said Attorney General Strange. “Customers have long been asking
for a way to stop these calls, and it is time for the phone carriers to comply and offer this valuable
service.”
Attorney General Strange said call-blocking options already exist for Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) phone service (NoMoRobo.com) and Android cell phones (Call Control), and the
phone carriers should move quickly to implement and inform their consumers of these options.
The Attorneys General whose offices signed today’s letter are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
A copy of the letter follows.
–30–
501 Washington Avenue* Montgomery, AL 36104* (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.usJuly 22, 2015
Randall Stephenson Marcelo Claure
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer
AT&T Inc. Sprint Corporation
208 S. Akard Street 6200 Sprint Parkway
Dallas, TX 75202 Overland Park, KS 66251
Lowell C. McAdam John Legere
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer President and Chief Executive
Verizon Communications Officer
PO Box 33078 T-Mobile USA
th
St. Petersburg, FL 33733 12920 SE 38 Street
Bellevue, WA 98006
Glen F. Post, III
CenturyLink, Inc.
100 CenturyLink Drive
Monroe, LA 71203
Dear Mssrs. Stephenson, McAdam, Claure, Legere and Post:
As state Attorneys General, we are on the front lines of consumer
protection for millions of Americans harassed by unwanted and unwelcome
robocalls. Though our offices work diligently to prosecute those who violate
state and federal laws intended to prevent such calls, our enforcement efforts
alone cannot stop the problem. The better solution is to stop intrusive calls
before they ever reach the consumer. To that end, we call on you to take full
advantage of the opportunity provided by the rule clarification recently
adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and offer call-
blocking technology to your consumers.
Previous discussions regarding the implementation of call-blocking
technologies were cut short by concerns that such technology may violate
federal law. At a July 2013 hearing before a Senate subcommittee, for
example, representatives from the US Telecom Association and CTIA testified
that “legal barriers prevent[] carriers from implementing advanced call-
blocking technology to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls.”
In response to that concern, thirty-nine Attorneys General sent a letter
to the FCC last September asking the Commission to issue an official opinion
clarifying that telephone providers are not prohibited by law from offering, at
2030 M Street, NW
the customer’s request, technology to block unwanted calls or texts.
Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20036
On June 18, 2015, the FCC responded, formally adopting a rule
Phone: (202) 326-6000
clarification, clearly stating that federal law does not prohibit
http://www.naag.org/
telecommunication service providers from offering, upon a customer’s request, services intended to block unwanted calls. This clarification by the FCC should remove
any doubt about your legal authority to empower consumers by providing call-blocking
technology to help stop robocalls, scam text messages and unwanted telemarketing calls.
Since call-blocking options already exist for Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP phone
service (NoMoRobo.com) and Android cell phones (Call Control), landline and wireless carriers
should move swiftly to implement and inform consumers of these options.
Every year, our offices are flooded with consumer complaints pleading for a solution to
stop intrusive robocalls. Your organizations are now poised to offer your customers the help they
need. We urge you to act without delay.
Respectfully,
Greg Zoeller Chris Koster
Indiana Attorney General Missouri Attorney General
Luther Strange Craig W. Richards
Alabama Attorney General Alaska Attorney General
Leslie Rutledge Kamala Harris
Arkansas Attorney General California Attorney General
Cynthia Coffman George Jepsen
Colorado Attorney General Connecticut Attorney General
Matthew Denn Karl A. Racine
Delaware Attorney General District of Columbia Attorney General
Pam Bondi Sam Olens
Florida Attorney General Georgia Attorney General
Doug Chin Lawrence Wasden
Hawaii Attorney General Idaho Attorney General
Lisa Madigan Tom Miller
Illinois Attorney General Iowa Attorney General
Derek Schmidt Jack Conway
Kansas Attorney General Kentucky Attorney General
Janet Mills Brian Frosh
Maine Attorney General Maryland Attorney General
Bill Schuette Lori Swanson
Michigan Attorney General Minnesota Attorney General
Jim Hood Tim Fox
Mississippi Attorney General Montana Attorney General
Doug Peterson Adam Paul Laxalt
Nebraska Attorney General Nevada Attorney General
Joseph A. Foster Hector Balderas
New Hampshire Attorney General New Mexico Attorney General
Eric Schneiderman Roy Cooper
New York Attorney General North Carolina Attorney General
Wayne Stenehjem Mike DeWine
North Dakota Attorney General Ohio Attorney General
Ellen F. Rosenblum Kathleen Kane
Oregon Attorney General Pennsylvania Attorney General
Peter Kilmartin Alan Wilson
Rhode Island Attorney General South Carolina Attorney General
Marty Jackley Herbert H. Slatery, III
South Dakota Attorney General Tennessee Attorney General
Sean Reyes William H. Sorrell
Utah Attorney General Vermont Attorney General
Mark R. Herring Robert W. Ferguson
Virginia Attorney General Washington Attorney General
Patrick Morrisey Brad Schimel
West Virginia Attorney General Wisconsin Attorney General
Peter K. Michael
Wyoming Attorney General
cc: Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO, CTIA
1400 16th Street NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Walter B. McCormick, Jr., President and CEO, USTelecom Association
607 14th Street NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
