Republican Party: Robocalls Should Go Directly To Voicemail

According to a report recently published by Recode, the Republican Party, among others, is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to have robocalls be funneled directly to the user’s voicemail, even stealthily (with the smartphone device not even sending an alert to that regard).

It goes without saying that this is a trick matter in more ways than one. After all, isn’t there a rule that prevents other parties, business establishments, or organizations from invading a mobile user’s handset, let alone voicemail, with the user’s consent? But the Republican Party and other supporters of the idea of robocalls going directly to voicemail seems to be okay with bypassing that rule.

As stated in comments filed with the FCC a few weeks ago, the Republican National Committee (RNC) believes that subjecting robocalls to the consent rule will not only hinder an important form of non-intrusive communication, it would also effect grave consequences for the First Amendment rights, especially of those participating in political communication by means of telephone.

Of course, certain parties are passionately opposed to the RNC’s stand. For instance, Margot Freeman Saunders, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, spoke to Recode and basically pointed out that without the protection of the consent rule, consumers will now treat voicemail as a repository for all sorts of spam messages, as opposed to a repository of messages that are actually important. And just think of the volume of unwanted messages coming into voicemail if there was no way to screen them or reject them outright. 

To the FCC’s credit, it has so far kept an open mind to both sides of the debate. Consumers can actually air out their opinions about the subject, and they can simply head to this web page. When they get to the Proceedings field, they only need to key in “02-278” and that should display a list item that states Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. When users choose that item, they will then be shown an online form that they can fill up and voice their sentiments with regards to robocalls going directly to voicemail.

Dealing with robocalls is an ongoing issue that involves many circles, not only the consumers themselves, but also wireless carriers and even tech firms. Some may remember that back in August of last year, several tech companies joined with the FCC in order to make an effort to combat robocalls.