The problem with robocalls is they are profitable. No matter what laws we pass to govern robocalls in the US, entrepreneurs in other countries will make robocalls as long as they are profitable. The chief robocalls seem to come from debt collection companies. These calls often use triggers to get people to pick up the phone like asking for someone of a different name. I receive a dozen of these calls a day, and my credit report is perfectly clean. Hence, I suspect the only goal of these calls is to get me to pick up the phone: my phone number can then be added to an "active phone number" database and resold to marketers. These lists must make enough money to make up for the costs of the calls themselves.
I have a very simple solution: make it illegal to sell contact lists/databases. License any consolidator of contact information (such as phone books) and make sure they enforce privacy policies (unlisted numbers, opt outs). Make sure this law covers all venues of aggegation: phone, online, print, database, etc. Sure someone will always find a way to aggregate information, but will they bother if they can't sell it?
Ps. Also add fines and punitive damages to any contact information aggregator that identifies itself in a misleading way in order to trick people into picking up the phone - such as fake debt collection companies.
This remark is my submission. Please solve the problem soon. A dozen disruptive phone rings a day is ridiculous.
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