FCC Warns Robots: Don’t Dial 911

After hearing complaints from the nation’s public safety communications centers that automatically-dialed 911 calls are tying up 911 lines, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued an order banning the practice, and has established fines up to $100,000 per call for violators. In an action yesterday, the FCC extended the nation’s existing consumer Do-Not-Call registry to the 911 emergency number, and began the process of establishing operational details for the new service. The consumer Do-Not-Call list was established in 2003, and was focused on limiting unwanted telemarketing by commercial companies. The regulation allows anyone to register one or more telephone numbers. In turn, operators of automatic dialers are required by law to access this registry of phone numbers, and are prohibited from calling any of the numbers. About 209 million telephone numbers are now registered with the service, or about half the total wired and wireless telephone accounts. The 911 registry will operate similarly, with public safety answering points (PSAP) given wide latitude to determine which of their numbers to register. The FCC said even non-emergency or administrative numbers would be appropriate for the registry, since they may be used for inter-agency contact and coordination during an incident. PSAPs will be required to review their registered numbers annually to confirm the accuracy of the list. On the other side, companies using autodialers must access the list, which will display only the registered numbers, and not any PSAP information. The companies are prohibited from disclosing the list of numbers, and must provide the FCC with their own list of out-bound calling numbers to assist in tracking down Do-Not-Call violators. As for the the fines, the FCC set them high: up to $1 million for disclosing the PSAP numbers, and up to $100,000 for each call dialed to a registered number. Download (pdf) the FCC’s full Order for more details on the new program.

In a press release, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) expressed its “gratitude and support” for the Order.

Today, the FCC unanimously approved an order creating a do-not-call list for America’s 9-1-1 centers. The action prevents robocalls and unsolicited telemarketing from reaching 9-1-1 centers on administrative lines – a needless distraction that could prevent emergency calls from being answered in a timely manner.

Brian Fontes, CEO of NENA: The 9-1-1 Association, expressed gratitude and support for the order on behalf of 9-1-1 professionals across the nation: “In an emergency, seconds often mean the difference between life and death. Today’s action ensures that 9-1-1 call takers are not forced to take unnecessary time away from providing the lifesaving service of 9-1-1 to answer frivolous and unwanted calls. The FCC’s order to end robocalls to 9-1-1 undoubtedly benefits both citizens in need of assistance and the 9-1-1 call takers who enable effective and efficient emergency response.”

The action is the result of an FCC proceeding initiated as a requirement of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. In addition, the Tax Relief Act established a range of monetary penalties for entities that disclose the registered numbers or use automatic dialing equipment to contact a number on the 9-1-1 center do-not-call registry.