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I read the whole thread and... it seems that people are looking at the solutions at the wrong angle: we have lot's of unwanted marketing/spam calls so we need t

I read the whole thread and... it seems that people are looking at the solutions at the wrong angle: we have lot's of unwanted marketing/spam calls so we need to find a way to block them. Then they spammers get smart and generate more and more spam - vicious circle. Wouldn't it be better to motion solving the problem at the other end - ban all non-personal calls that are made without your explicit consent? Something similar is done in Europe/Poland and I virtually don't receive any unsolicited calls. Of course this would cause all the "poor" telemarketing companies to cry outloud how they are "persecuted and not free to work normally, bla, bla, bla" and probably there would be a huge lobbying involved not to make it happen…

cimmanom 8y ago
This can be difficult to manage, though. Yesterday my doctor called because they had to reschedule an appointment. Would I have to have remembered to whitelist them? What if they have multiple outgoing numbers? What about all the other businesses I interact with? The computer repair place saying my laptop is ready to pick up? The cable technician calling to let me know that he'll be 30 min late? The hotel I made reservations with calling to confirm?
- ktosobcy 8y ago
  Well, those are related with the business with have them (even informal 'word of mouth') - they provide you service and to comply with it they call you. It's completely different for unsolicited calls - you don't have any business with them and they don't provide you any service. Having severe fines for the latter should work just fine: they call you, you report them, they receive a fine that put them out of business. It seems to work just fine in Europe so should be doable in US as well. Imagine the "Do Not Call list" but with an angle that everyone are on that list (so no company can call you). You make an appointment with dentist - they ask you for your number and they call you to reschedule, you also provide the phone to the company/technician to install your cable. It feels cleaner
MrMember 8y ago
A lot of these calls come from people or companies trying to scam people (illegal), ignore the existing Do Not Call list (also illegal), and spoof themselves as legitimate, often local numbers (you guessed it, illegal). I doubt banning non-personal calls would deter them much.

cimmanom 8y ago

This can be difficult to manage, though. Yesterday my doctor called because they had to reschedule an appointment. Would I have to have remembered to whitelist them? What if they have multiple outgoing numbers? What about all the other businesses I interact with? The computer repair place saying my laptop is ready to pick up? The cable technician calling to let me know that he'll be 30 min late? The hotel I made reservations with calling to confirm?

ktosobcy 8y ago
Well, those are related with the business with have them (even informal 'word of mouth') - they provide you service and to comply with it they call you. It's completely different for unsolicited calls - you don't have any business with them and they don't provide you any service. Having severe fines for the latter should work just fine: they call you, you report them, they receive a fine that put them out of business. It seems to work just fine in Europe so should be doable in US as well. Imagine the "Do Not Call list" but with an angle that everyone are on that list (so no company can call you). You make an appointment with dentist - they ask you for your number and they call you to reschedule, you also provide the phone to the company/technician to install your cable. It feels cleaner

MrMember 8y ago

A lot of these calls come from people or companies trying to scam people (illegal), ignore the existing Do Not Call list (also illegal), and spoof themselves as legitimate, often local numbers (you guessed it, illegal). I doubt banning non-personal calls would deter them much.