Apple And Google Joins 30+ Tech Companies In Strike Force To Crack Down On Robocalls
Tech giants Google and Apple are reportedly joining the fight in the effort to strike down on the budding problem of "robocalls," which are automated prerecorded messages that contact phone users for whatever reason, an issue some have deemed as intrusive.
The Android and iOS operating system progenitors are joining a coalition of more than 30 companies in the effort, according to the report by Reuters. Among the other big names in the technological industry joining the fight to crush the "scourge" of the robocalls are AT&T, Google's own parent Alphabet Inc., Verizon Communications Inc, and Comcast Corp.
The companies are banding together in united effort in a movement dubbed the "Robocall Strike Force," with the group's first meeting with the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) already held.
To explain, "robocalls" are automated calls that people unexpectedly receive. Upon picking up or answering the call, most people will be met with a pre-recorded message playing. The whole process is an automated, more "efficient" way of contacting people previously used by telemarketers, although reports indicate that even scammers are getting into making these robocalls.
Among the first steps of the initiative to fight the robocall menace is for the companies to begin formulating "concrete plans to accelerate the development and adoption of new tools and solutions," which will be submitted to the FCC on Oct. 19 according to AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson.
The origins of the "Robocall Strike Force" showed up back in July, with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler issuing a cry to the major companies running the United States' communications infrastructure in order to urge them to help stop the spread of the automated calls bugging the people.
"This scourge must stop," Wheeler said on Friday. Reflecting on Edmund Burke's legendary "triumph of evil" adage, Wheeler said that "the bad guys are beating the good guys with technology," and they are only succeeding "due in large part to industry inaction."
Speaking of his company's part in joining the "Robocall Strike Force," AT&T's Stephenson said that fighting against robocalls "is going to require more than individual company initiatives and one-off blocking apps," Stephenson said. "Robocallers are a formidable adversary, notoriously hard to stop."
"We have to come out of this with a comprehensive play book for all of us to go execute," according to Stephenson. "We have calls that are perfectly legal, but unwanted, like telemarketers and public opinion surveyors. At the other end of the spectrum, we have millions of calls that are blatantly illegal."