FCC plans robocall scorecard to grade phone companies on spam call blocking
FCC plans robocall scorecard to grade phone companies on spam call blocking
美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）计划推出“骚扰电话记分卡”，对电信运营商的拦截能力进行评级
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 scorecards could include call-blocking statistics along with data on customer complaints and enforcement actions. 美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）今日宣布，将建立一套“骚扰电话缓解记分卡”，旨在评估各电信运营商拦截非法骚扰电话的有效性。该记分卡可能包含电话拦截统计数据，以及消费者投诉和执法行动的相关数据。
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. “The Scorecard will empower consumers and encourage providers to continue to combat illegal robocalls by providing the public with an assessment of the effectiveness of voice service providers’ efforts to protect consumers from illegal robocalls,” the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said in a public notice. FCC表示，记分卡可能会采用数字评分、字母等级，或将运营商划分为低风险、中风险和高风险等级。FCC消费者与政府事务局在公告中指出：“通过向公众提供语音服务提供商保护消费者免受非法骚扰电话影响的有效性评估，该记分卡将赋予消费者更多知情权，并鼓励运营商继续打击非法骚扰电话。”
The proposed tool would rate wireless, wireline, and VoIP providers on efforts to block robocalls and their “actual results in protecting [consumers] from illegal robocalls,” the FCC said. “In practice, that means moving beyond a simple administrative checklist (i.e., did the provider file the right paperwork, did they offer the right tools) and toward a composite set of metrics that reflects both operational practices and measurable outcomes, including how often legitimate calls are blocked.” FCC表示，该拟议工具将对无线、有线及VoIP（网络电话）运营商在拦截骚扰电话方面的努力及其“保护消费者免受非法骚扰电话侵害的实际成果”进行评级。“在实践中，这意味着不再仅仅依赖简单的行政核查清单（例如：运营商是否提交了相关文件、是否提供了相应的工具），而是转向一套综合指标，既反映运营实践，也反映可衡量的结果，包括合法电话被误拦截的频率。”
Whether the tool is useful for consumers will depend on how it’s designed, how easy each provider’s scorecard is to find, and what data sources it relies on. The proposed scorecard would apply to domestic voice service providers with retail customers, but not telcos that operate solely as wholesale or intermediate providers. 该工具对消费者是否实用，取决于其设计方式、各运营商记分卡的易获取程度，以及其所依赖的数据来源。拟议的记分卡将适用于拥有零售客户的国内语音服务提供商，但不适用于仅作为批发或中间商运营的电信公司。
“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,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a press release. FCC主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）在新闻稿中表示：“打击非法骚扰电话这一祸害仍然是FCC消费者保护工作的重中之重……正如今日公告所提议的那样，FCC旨在开发一套记分卡，为消费者提供更多关于运营商打击非法骚扰电话措施的信息，同时也将激励运营商改进其工作。”
Scorecards need “the right information”
记分卡需要“准确的信息”
The FCC is seeking public comment on what sources of data to use for the robocall scorecard. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission’s only Democrat, said the “scorecard could increase consumer awareness of how providers fight illegal robocalls” if it includes “the right information.” FCC目前正在就骚扰电话记分卡应使用何种数据来源征求公众意见。作为委员会中唯一的民主党人，FCC委员安娜·戈麦斯（Anna Gomez）表示，如果记分卡包含“准确的信息”，那么它“将能提高消费者对运营商如何打击非法骚扰电话的认知”。
The robocall scorecard won’t be the first FCC initiative designed to give consumers useful data about telecom providers. The FCC requires Internet providers to display pricing information on publicly accessible broadband labels, though Carr recently led a vote to stop requiring that ISPs list all their discretionary fees on those labels. 骚扰电话记分卡并非FCC旨在为消费者提供电信运营商有用数据的首个举措。FCC此前要求互联网服务提供商在公开的宽带标签上展示价格信息，尽管卡尔近期主导了一次投票，取消了要求ISP在标签上列出所有自主收费项目的规定。
Consumer advocacy groups are likely to weigh in on the call for public comments, and so are phone companies that won’t want the scorecards to rate them poorly. The docket is available at this FCC webpage. 消费者权益保护组织可能会参与此次公众意见征询，不希望被记分卡给出低评级的电话公司也同样会参与。相关档案可在FCC网页上查阅。
“We applaud the FCC’s possible renewed interest in cracking down on scam and spam robocalls. The FCC’s efforts have been disappointing for years, going back to even before Congress passed the robocall crackdown law in 2019,” Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), told Ars today. 公共利益研究小组（PIRG）消费者监督主管特蕾莎·默里（Teresa Murray）今日对Ars表示：“我们对FCC可能重新关注打击诈骗和骚扰电话表示赞赏。多年来，FCC的表现一直令人失望，甚至可以追溯到国会于2019年通过打击骚扰电话法案之前。”
Murray, who wrote a report in February 2025 grading providers on their blocking efforts, said she is concerned about what information the FCC will use and whether it will be useful to consumers. “Phone customers should absolutely feel empowered to speak with their wallets if they’re unhappy with their phone service,” Murray told Ars. “But switching cellphone or VoIP providers isn’t as easy as choosing to shop at a different grocery store next week, even if someone isn’t in a phone contract. Maybe the point of the scorecard would be to shame providers into doing better. And that would be a good thing.” 默里曾在2025年2月撰写过一份评估运营商拦截能力的报告，她表示担心FCC将使用何种信息，以及这些信息对消费者是否有用。默里告诉Ars：“如果电话用户对服务不满意，他们绝对应该有权用脚投票。但更换手机或VoIP运营商并不像下周换一家杂货店购物那么容易，即使某人没有签署电话合同。也许记分卡的意义在于通过舆论压力促使运营商做得更好，那将是一件好事。”
Complaints and other data
投诉及其他数据
The FCC proposes using conduct-based metrics and outcome-based metrics. The first category measures “whether a provider has taken specific steps or responded to specific requests related to illegal robocall mitigation,” while the second examines “whether a provider’s efforts actually reduce illegal robocalls reaching consumers, such as whether the number, rate, or severity of illegal robocalls… is measurably lower because of something the provider did.” FCC提议使用基于行为的指标和基于结果的指标。第一类指标衡量“运营商是否采取了具体措施或响应了与缓解非法骚扰电话相关的特定请求”，而第二类指标则考察“运营商的努力是否确实减少了到达消费者的非法骚扰电话，例如非法骚扰电话的数量、频率或严重程度是否因运营商的举措而出现可衡量的下降”。
The FCC appears likely to use data from the providers themselves and from third parties. The public notice said: Specifically, we seek comment on what sources we can use for the metrics we choose to use… Are providers themselves a good source of such data? In some cases, are they the only source? Are there other sources, such as call analytics companies, that providers may use to help with labeling and blocking? Are there other parties that might have helpful data, including private companies or other governmental entities? Do such parties have data on all providers we would include in the Scorecard or just a portion of them? Are such data sources unbiased, i.e., do not have an interest in skewing results in favor of certain providers? FCC似乎倾向于使用来自运营商自身及第三方的数据。公告称：“具体而言，我们寻求关于我们所选指标应使用何种数据来源的意见……运营商自身是此类数据的良好来源吗？在某些情况下，他们是唯一来源吗？是否有其他来源（如通话分析公司）可供运营商用于辅助标记和拦截？是否有其他方（包括私营公司或其他政府实体）拥有有用的数据？这些方拥有我们记分卡中包含的所有运营商的数据，还是仅涵盖其中一部分？这些数据来源是否公正，即是否存在偏袒某些运营商的利益？”
The FCC said the scorecards may show data from consumer complaints filed with the FCC, Federal Trade Commission, and other government bodies. It asked for comments on the limitations of using complaint data, since “the mere filing of a complaint does not necessarily indicate a failure to stop an illegal call from reaching a consumer.” FCC表示，记分卡可能会展示来自向FCC、联邦贸易委员会（FTC）及其他政府机构提交的消费者投诉数据。它要求就使用投诉数据的局限性发表意见，因为“仅仅提交投诉并不一定意味着运营商未能阻止非法电话到达消费者手中”。
“Is a complaint sufficient evidence that a consumer is unhappy with the robocall protection their provider is giving them?” the FCC asked. The FCC proposed measuring the accuracy of blocking tools and is seeking comment on how to do that. The proposed tool would rate providers both on blocking illegal robocalls and on avoiding erroneous blocking of legitimate calls. FCC问道：“投诉是否足以证明消费者对其运营商提供的骚扰电话保护措施不满意？”FCC提议衡量拦截工具的准确性，并就如何实现这一目标征求意见。该拟议工具将从拦截非法骚扰电话和避免误拦截合法电话两个维度对运营商进行评级。