ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday signed a package of legislation into law as an effort to block robocalls from certain numbers to your phone.
Under the new legislation, telecommunication companies will have to block robocalls from certain numbers to prevent those calls from coming in across different providers.
"New Yorkers are fed up with annoying, predatory robocalls, and we're taking action to stop them," Governor Hochul said. "This legislation will enable telecom companies to prevent these calls from coming in in the first place, as well as empower our state government to ensure that voice service providers are validating who is making these calls so enforcement action can be taken against bad actors."
The second bill signed makes it so providers have to make sure a call to you is actually coming from the number that shows up.
"Robocalls are disruptive, pervasive, and serve no benefit to families and communities. Blocking spam and robocalls can protect vulnerable consumer populations from predatory practices, in particular our seniors who have been targeted by scammers during the pandemic. Stopping as many illegitimate calls as possible will help New Yorkers feel safe when using their phones. I am proud to sponsor this legislation which blocks the majority of robocalls and to have this included in the Governor's package of bills designed to end spam phone calls," State Senator Jeremy Cooney said.
The third bill will allow companies to block calls from certain numbers that are most likely fake.
"These bills are a significant step in ending the current and escalating scourge of robocalls. At the same time, they will help protect consumers from fraudulent and costly robocall schemes. Robocalls are a daily annoyance, No one wants to answer the phone anymore. You can't even trust calls from local numbers. By requiring providers to utilize technology that prevents spoofed numbers and proactively block calls that are clearly illegitimate, these bills are a critical step towards ending this nuisance. I applaud Governor Hochul for signing this bill into law and making ending this telephone harassment a priority," State Assemblymember Amy Paulin said.
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