The notorious STIR/SHAKEN ID verification mechanism, a tool held in high regard by the FCC as key to identifying, obstructing, and alerting consumers about harmful robocalls, is in the news again. The FCC aims to prevent robocalls from sidestepping ID verification resources in ageing non-Internet Protocol network technology. Unsolicited mass calls offering products or services are unlawful unless express consent is provided by the receivers. Nevertheless, swindlers have successfully penetrated outdated non-IP systems and escaped digital identifications.
Devices such as mobile phones and landline telephones, which typically transmit minimal amounts of data infrequently, are vulnerable to this. The Federal Communications Commission, with a unanimous 4-0 decision, advanced efforts to ensure that digital IDs remain attached throughout the call route. They passed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to define criteria for reviewing whether frameworks align with the TRACED Act standards.
The regulators are keen for providers to continuously affirm their application of this tool and have given a two-year window to comply post-adoption of the new rule. The authorities are inviting perspectives on the successful adoption of caller ID verification solutions, exploring if this enables further enhancements to be carried out in the future.
For the previous four years, the FCC has postponed the TRACED Act’s deadline for providers to roll out an authentication framework for non-IP calls. The STIR/SHAKEN caller ID verification mechanism is considered a pivotal instrument, greatly endorsed by the Commission, to identify, obstruct, and alert consumers about damaging robocalls.
The technology exploits a caller ID system to check whether calls on a provider’s network are genuinely originating from the displayed number. In the year 2021, major phone service providers in the United States, including the likes of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Comcast, were directed to implement the STIR/SHAKEN technology to curb the proliferation of disruptive spam calls.
STIR/SHAKEN refers to the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using Tokens standards, where STIR signifies the protocol and SHAKEN denotes the framework for robocall tracking. The issue of unwanted calls declined for the third year in a row, as per data divulged by the Federal Trade Commission in November 2024.
The 2024 edition of the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registry Data Book, first published in 2003, indicated a decrease in complaints by over 50% since 2021. As per the registry, the total number of illegal robocalls reached 1.1 million last year, a drop from 1.2 million in the preceding year and significantly down from 3.4 million in 2021.
This registry permits US citizens to include their details on a list, thereby banning telemarketers from contacting them. ‘The future crucially depends on furthering this development by aggressively tackling not just telemarketing firms but also enterprises that consciously profit from scam calls,’ stated the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Director, Sam Levine, in 2024.
Furthermore, the FCC announced a proposed fine of $299.9 million in December against Roy Cox Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones, who initiated more than half a billion robocalls offering misleading vehicle warranty services. This proposal displays the ever-vigilant stance of regulatory bodies against disruptive, misleading and illegal communication methods.