The Republican National Committee is backing a move to allow commercial and political robocallers to send spam messages directly into your voicemail. You won’t hear your phone ring, but you will get the message. The petition is under serious consideration by the Federal Communications Commission, now headed by a Trump appointee.
Read more in the Washington Post:
Republicans want to let robocallers spam your voicemail
and in the
New York Times:
No, Your Phone Didn’t Ring. So Why Voice Mail From a Telemarketer?
If the petition goes through, robocall access to your voicemail would represent another loss of public goods – those regulations designed to protect us from intrusions upon our privacy, whether enabled by communications conglomerates or new technologies.
Another recent loss along similar lines was the legislation passed in March by the Republican leadership in the House and Senate -- and signed by Trump with no fanfare. That legislation dismantled regulations that banned Internet providers, such as Comcast and AT&T, from selling customers’ browsing histories without their consent. Read more about this at:
How Congress dismantled federal Internet privacy rules
Government policies that control spammers, protect our privacy, and prevent the unauthorized sale of our private data are public goods. But these are being quietly dismantled behind the scenes, in Congressional committees and Departmental meetings, while headlines feature the latest White House outrages. Many more protections vital to our democracy are on the chopping block. For a list and explanation, see:
Which Obama-Era Rules Are Being Reversed in the Trump Era
