The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have demanded that robocall-enabling service providers, also known as gateway providers, block all COVID-19-related scam robocalls within 48 hours or face serious consequences. The FCC and FTC have coordinated with American phone providers and expect them to block all calls from gateway providers unless the gateway providers comply with the agencies’ demand. This follows a letter from April leading to the termination of other robocallers’ access to American phone networks. The FCC is currently codifying this process, per the recently enacted TRACED Act. The Commission has warned consumers of these scams; these warnings are available at https://www.fcc.gov/covid-scams.
