The Federal Communications Commission has announced plans for a robocall mitigation scorecard designed to grade phone companies on how effectively they block illegal spam calls. The proposed tool would give consumers a clearer picture of how well their carrier protects them, while pushing providers to strengthen their efforts.
According to the FCC, the scorecards could combine call-blocking statistics with data on customer complaints and enforcement actions. Providers might be graded on a number scale, assigned letter grades, or classified as low risk, medium risk, or high risk. The agency’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said the scorecard would “empower consumers and encourage providers to continue to combat illegal robocalls” by publicly assessing the effectiveness of their protective measures.
The rating system would apply to wireless, wireline, and VoIP providers, evaluating both their blocking efforts and their actual results in shielding customers from illegal robocalls. The FCC described the approach as moving beyond a simple administrative checklist—confirming whether a provider filed the right paperwork or offered the right tools—toward a composite set of metrics reflecting operational practices and measurable outcomes, including how often legitimate calls are wrongly blocked.
Which Providers Would Be Graded
The proposed scorecard would cover domestic voice service providers with retail customers. Telecom companies operating solely as wholesale or intermediate providers would be excluded. Whether the tool proves useful will depend on how it is designed, how easily each provider’s scorecard can be found, and which data sources it relies on.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said combating illegal robocalls remains the commission’s top consumer protection priority. He noted that the scorecard aims to give consumers more information about the steps providers are taking, while also incentivizing carriers to improve.
The initiative would not be the FCC’s first effort to give consumers useful telecom data. The agency already requires internet providers to display pricing details on publicly accessible broadband labels, although Carr recently led a vote to end the requirement that ISPs list all discretionary fees on those labels.
Public Comment and Industry Response
The FCC is seeking public comment on which data sources to use for the scorecard. Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission’s only Democrat, said the tool could increase consumer awareness of how providers fight illegal robocalls if it includes “the right information.”
Consumer advocacy groups and phone companies are both expected to respond, with carriers likely to resist ratings that reflect poorly on their performance. Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), welcomed the possible renewed focus, saying the FCC’s efforts have been disappointing for years, dating back to before Congress passed the robocall crackdown law in 2019. Murray previously authored a February 2025 report grading providers on their blocking efforts.
The proposal is available for review in the FCC’s public docket, where interested parties can submit their feedback during the comment period.
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Image: arstechnica.com
