Attorney General Fox Urges FCC to Allow Use of Call-Blocking Technologies by Phone Companies

Technically, robo-calls are illegal in Montana, but everyone with a land line knows that the automated calls still come through anyway. Ed Eck from the Montana Consumer protection Association said the state has tried repeatedly to try to get carriers to stop connecting the robo-calls to Montanans, but has had trouble getting things changed.

"It's hard to control them and people who violate the law don't care whether it's illegal or not," Eck said. "At a testimony before a congressional committee several months ago, one of the telephone providers said we can't block them. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says that we have a legal duty to complete phone calls."

This week Attorney General Tim Fox wrote to the FCC to find out the truth.

"What Attorney General Fox did as well as some 31 or 32 other attorney generals is he joined in on a letter writing the FCC and asking 'Is this really illegal under your rules, or could a carrier block the calls if requested to do so?'"

If the FCC does require robo-calls to be connected, federal legislation will be needed before the calls can be stopped.