BUFFALO, N.Y. — Robocalls -- everyone hates them -- and now new protections have been approved that could limit the number of robocalls you get.
The FCC will now allow cell phone companies to block robocalls without hearing from you first.
"There's one thing in our country today that unites Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, socialists and libertarians, vegetarians and carnivores, Ohio and Michigan fans, is that they are sick and tired of being bombarded by unwanted robocalls. And my message to the American people is simple, we hear you and we are on your side," said Ajit Pai, the chairman of the FCC.
Pai may have covered everyone in the country in that soundbite when talking about how many people dislike robocalls.
"There isn't a silver bullet to solving the problem of unwanted robocalls," he said.
Thursday's ruling from the FCC now allows phone companies to block robocalls based on phone call activity -- or what the FCC calls "reasonable call analytics."
But, what's reasonable and what's not in terms of robocall activity still needs to be worked out.
Before your phone company can block any robocalls, your carrier needs to inform you and give you the option to opt out.
Also with the ruling from the FCC, phone companies are allowed to offer options that block calls from numbers that are not in your contact list.
The FCC says all this will protect consumers and be more cost-effective.
But, some FCC commissioners concerned about the ruling, wonder whether phone companies will charge for these programs.
Many cell phone companies already offer robocall blocking options.
Verizon has a service that blocks robocalls for free -- Verizon customers can upgrade this service for $3 a month.
AT&T also blocks robocalls to smartphones for free -- for robocalls at home, AT&T customers can block unwanted calls from up to 100 numbers.
The FCC says that it expects major phone carriers to offer these new options by the end of the year.
The Center for Elder Law and Justice in Buffalo, which says it has seen a lot of cases of seniors getting ripped off by scammers, hopes these changes increase protection and doesn't add more costs to phone bills.