FCC's Phone ID Proposal Could Leave Domestic Abuse Survivors, Homeless Americans Without Phone Access

A new proposal by the FCC might leave vulnerable Americans without phone access, some groups and experts have warned.

The Federal Communications Commission has recently proposed to combat spoof robocalls by requiring telecommunications providers to obtain certain customer information before providing services. The information may include the customer's name, physical address, a government-issued ID number, and an alternate telephone number.

While groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation recognize the threat and inconvenience posed by spam calls, they also argue that requiring more personal information may make phone use inaccessible to individuals who need anonymity and could put the broader public at risk.

Cutting Off Groups From Phone Access

The FCC's proposal banks on the assumption that spam calls come from burner phones, which have no clear link with an identifiable individual at the point of purchase. By requiring telecommunications consumers to provide more information, it aims not just to reduce the number of spam calls but also to help in police investigations.

The EFF has criticised this assumption, stating that collecting more information will not significantly reduce spam calls. The group cited the FCC's own statement that 'the most effective way to prevent unwanted calls from reaching American consumers is by ensuring they never enter the network.'

Furthermore, the EFF stressed that some vulnerable individuals may, in fact, need anonymity: 'Anonymous phones...are also used by activists who wish to remain anonymous, privacy-conscious consumers, people escaping domestic violence, people escaping human trafficking, journalists who need to reach out to confidential sources, and other people in desperate situations,' the group said in a recent article.

'Anonymous phone lines are a lifeline to many, one which this proposal would cut off without any alternative.'

Even for individuals who do not require anonymity, the requirements may prove too restrictive. The EFF opposed the need to provide a home address and a government-issued ID number in particular. It stated that not all Americans have a stable home address. Currently, 15 million adult Americans do not have a driver's licence, while a further 21 million have a licence that is expired, and 2.6 million do not have a government-issued photo ID.

The Public At Risk

The collection of more information also puts the general population at risk, as telecommunications companies have fallen victim to numerous data breaches. The EFF cited several instances, such as the one suffered by Comcast in 2023, when information was stolen from nearly 36 million account holders. The providers themselves are known to give customer information to third parties.

Support From Some Groups

Other groups have expressed their support for the proposal. A number of banking associations, publishing on the Bank Policy Institute website, stated that fraud and scam losses totaled nearly $200 billion in 2024, and that the financial industry spends billions of dollars annually to prevent and address fraud and scams.

Seeing the proposal as a means to cut these losses, they urged the FCC to specify what providers need to do in order to combat fraudulent calls.

The FCC is currently taking public comments that it will use to review the proposal until 26 July 2026.