The Federal Communications Commission has given the nation's phone companies the green light to block those annoying and illegal robocalls - as well as unwanted spam text messages.
By a 3 to 2 vote, the FCC told the companies Thursday that they are legally allowed to provide this service to customers who request it in order to take back control of their phones.
Just because the phone companies have permission to use this screening technology, however, doesn't mean they will. The FCC can't force them to do it. And so far, there's been no indication they plan to provide this service.
The technology already exists to protect customers from unwanted and illegal robocalls that are often used by scammers, but wireless and landline phone companies have not embraced it.
In the past, no matter how consumers complain, landline phone companies have refused to do it or to allow third-party screening software to work on their networks.
AT&T has insisted that federal law and FCC regulations require them to deliver every call and specifically prohibit them from blocking any calls, even those consumers don't want. Now that one-third of America no longer uses land lines, and because so many people are losing their life savings from robocall powered phone scams, more pressure will mount on telephone companies to give consumers relief.
