Comments are due Feb. 1.
1/25/2021 9:00
The Federal Communications Commission’s Hospital Robocall Protection Group (HRPG), established in June 2020, has issued best practices to help stop unlawful robocalls to hospitals. The commission is now seeking comments on how to facilitate adoption of these best practices.
As required by the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act of 2019, the FCC established the HRPG to issue best practices on:
- How voice service providers can better combat unlawful robocalls made to hospitals;
- How hospitals can better protect themselves from such calls, including by using robocall mitigation techniques; and
- How the federal government and state governments can help combat such calls.
The HRPG issued best practices for each of the above-referenced topics in December 2020.
“Recognizing that efforts by any single entity will not adequately protect hospitals from illegal robocalls, the HRPG best practices focus on collective efforts and encourage a coordinated response among hospitals, phone companies, and government agencies, to mitigate the impact of these calls,” according to a news release from the FCC.
The HRPG separated its best practices into two categories. One focuses on how unlawful robocalls to hospitals can be prevented, and the second focuses on how hospitals can respond to unlawful robocalls that have occurred to mitigate their impact.
The complete best practices are available here.
Comments on the best practices are due to the FCC Feb. 1 and, as required by the TRACED Act, the FCC will assess how to facilitate voluntary adoption of the best practices to protect hospitals and other institutions no later than June 13, 2021.
All comment filings should refer to CG Docket No. 21-7 and may be filed electronically here: http://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. View the FCC news release for more information on filing comments.