OTTAWA and GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today regulators from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong and the United States, for the first time, have met in person to try to find better ways to combat scam communications.
“Hosted by the CRTC, the Combating Scam Communications meeting was an opportunity to share their strategic insights on current initiatives and cross-border enforcement challenges. The participants also explored opportunities for greater international collaboration to disrupt scam communications,” reads a press release.
The meeting preceded the International Regulators Forum and International Institute of Communications’ annual conference being held in Ottawa from Nov. 1-4, the release explains.
“This meeting builds on an existing collaboration between regulators through the Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network (UCENet) and the strong bilateral relationships between many global regulatory agencies,” the release says. The purpose of the UCENet is “to promote international spam enforcement cooperation and address spam related problems, such as online fraud and deception, phishing and the spreading of viruses.”
At the meeting, the five countries’ representatives “agreed to continue their collaboration and share strategic information. They will seek engagement from other regulatory agencies in jurisdictions that may be the source of or suffering from scam communications,” the release says.
“Unlawful spam and unwanted calls continue to be major threats to consumers around the globe,” said CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott, in the release. “Coordinating our efforts internationally is the only way we can tackle this issue. By doing so, we are increasing our chances of protecting our citizens from those engaging in illegal and damaging activities.”
“Is there a person on this planet who does not hate getting robocalls? Scammers are an all-too-familiar threat to consumers around the globe and partnerships like this are critical in our unified efforts to protect consumers and fight back against scammers,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the U.S.’s Federal Communications Commission.
“Joint efforts at scam disruption by regulators internationally is a key line of defense,” said James Cameron, authority member, Australian Communications and Media Authority. “Every scam blocked is a win for consumers, hardens telecommunications networks and disrupts the scammers’ business model.”
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