On April 30, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) that would significantly tighten “Know-Your-Customer” (KYC) obligations for originating voice service providers. The Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls (CG Docket No. 17‑59) is the latest step in the Commission’s effort to attack illegal calls “at every point in their lifecycle.”

Existing KYC Obligations and the FCC’s Concern

The FCC’s rules already require originating voice service providers to take “affirmative, effective” measures to know their customers and to ensure that their services are not used to originate illegal call traffic. Those obligations are part of a broader robocall enforcement framework that includes STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication, traceback participation, and mandated blocking of certain categories of unlawful calls.

In Chairman Brendan Carr’s statement, the Commission notes that, despite these requirements, “some originating providers are not doing enough to vet their customers,” and in some cases have become “complicit” in illegal robocalling schemes by doing the bare minimum (or worse) on customer due diligence. The result is that scammers and other bad actors can still gain access to U.S. networks and place large volumes of fraudulent calls, undermining consumer protection and law enforcement efforts...