Democrat Andrew Yang wants to end robocalls as president

[TexasTowelie]

Democratic presidential primary contender Andrew Yang hates robocalls as much as you do.

Unwanted calls, including illegal and spoofed robocalls, are the top consumer complaint to the Federal Communications Commission. Among Yang’s extensive list of policy proposals is a plan to ban robocalls, if elected president in 2020.

Earlier this year, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 42 other state attorneys general in urging the FCC to adopt rules cracking down on illegal robocalls and malicious caller ID spoofing. Nessel said it’s time to “bring the sword down upon all scammers."

Yang’s proposal is pretty straight forward: If you receive a robocall that wasted your time, forward the number to an FCC tip line. The FCC would follow up with the company that called you, and issue fines if numerous complaints are received about a particular company are received.

Read more: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2019/07/democrat-andrew-yang-wants-to-end-robocalls-as-president.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Works for me

His proposal is at the link.

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/robo-calling-text-line/

[oldsoftie]

2. Congress recently started working on this issue & hopefully will come out with more soon

I know that i'm getting far fewer calls after the recent directive issued by the FCC about phone companies beling allowed to automatically block certain types of calls

[usaf-vet]

5. I am willing to wait to STOP this intrusive, illegal, invasion into my private life.

I predict we will get a proposal and legislation for controlling robocalls LONG before the GOP and the president finally get us a "replacement" health care bill for all Americans.

The GOP has set an example of saying one thing and doing the other OR not doing anything at all.

Remember since the day the ACA (Obamacare) became laws the GOP has been promising a "repeal and replace" for the ACA.

We are now approaching 10 years of this GOP talking point with absolutely no evidence of any better, more inclusive national health care plan.

Either they are stupid and are not being led by a "stable genius" or THEY ARE LYING to us all.

[calimary]

3. I hate those!

Somebody from Gardena CA keeps trying to call me. I block the number and sure enough, another one follows shortly. How many numbers do they have???

[James48]

4. Suddenly, Yang leads into first place!

With a proposal like that...

[dsc]

6. Isn't the problem that we don't know who they are

it is already illegal to robo call cell phones but since we don't know who is doing it, or in some cases foreign actors are the one doing it, we have no way to enforce it.

[thesquanderer]

10. Also some spoof the caller ID, & keep changing the # they seem to be calling from (nt)

[tymorial]

13. Most of the scams originate in foreign nations.

That is why the government cant stop it.

[IronLionZion]

17. Regulating calls to avoid spoofed caller IDs would help

there are technical solutions available where a call shouldn't be let through if the caller ID is tampered with or hidden. Some smartphones have this option but it should be done at the network.

This would also affect a lot of political and charity fundraising through questionable third party contractors who don't want to identify that they are not directly working for who they claim to be raising money for.

People ought to know who is calling us.

[dsc]

18. I think at the network level is the best idea

[IronLionZion]

19. We need to regulate that so the phone companies can do it on their side

We should also know if a call is originating from a foreign country or domestic

[onetexan]

7. OK, so we have a humanitarian crisis with concentration camps at the border, devastation of the

environment, increasing fascism, etc... and Yang is talking about ending robocalls?

Sure it's a problem, but priorities folks. I like Yang's UBS idea, just not sure how the country can afford it and waiting for him to expound on it more. For now he's gotta stick to the bigger, more catastrophic problems.

[intheflow]

9. Yeah, that was my first thought, too.

I mean, I hate robocalls but they're really just inconvenient and annoying. They don't threaten democracy, human rights, or the planet.

[Amimnoch]

14. First priority is winning 2020. This is the kind of meat that can grow legs.

You are absolutely right that this isn't a major issue for most of us that are highly politically minded, and especially for those of us that have human empathy. For many others though, the ones that at least partially buy into the right wing scare tactics and don't have empathy for issues that don't directly affect them, this is the kind of bullshit that can gain some traction and swing some over.

Here, just about everyone is more into the BIG picture issues.. human crisis, the environment, rising fascism, healthcare crisis.. I can actually see this kind of policy being the meat that swing voters who don't share our concerns might latch onto.

I personally know people that something like this will ring more with them than "those stupid socialist policies". Find some of the stupid little picture things that actually affects them directly, and it may help get us over the finish line to 270 in some of those critical swing states.

[IronLionZion]

16. Yang promotes these ideas precisely because other Dems are not

Dems can tackle more than a few issues. Any Dem would be better than Trump on the high priority issues you listed but we can do more.

[marble falls]

8. That alone might get me to back him.

[tymorial]

11. Yeah great. Too bad virtually all of these calls originate outside the jurisdiction of the FCC

And US authority in general.

[FakeNoose]

12. This is a winner

This affects all Americans and it's a hidden cost we all have to bear.

Good on you, Andrew Yang!

[IronLionZion]

15. I get lots of calls from Dems asking for money

Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign called me asking for $1 donation to help her qualify for the next debate. They used caller ID blocking and called around 5 times over 2 days before I picked up. I asked them to add me to their Do Not Call list.

[Calista241]

20. Sign me up!

[coolcat_riley]

21. finger cross

Well, I hope it won't be another bullshit. I've received hundreds of them and also have read thousands of reports and complaints filed at sites like http://whycall.me about phone spammers since years ago.

[MineralMan]

22. That's not within the powers of a President.

Such a thing would require legislation, not a presidential fiat.

Presidential candidates should not promise things they cannot deliver. Really.