U.S. — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a rule requiring phone companies to obtain and retain customers' government-issued identification numbers, physical addresses, and alternate telephone numbers before granting service. The FCC stated the proposal aims to reduce robocalls by deterring scammers from acquiring phone service and facilitating the identification of scammers on the phone network.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr stated that some phone companies "are not doing enough to vet their customers, allowing bad actors to infiltrate our US phone networks." Carr said the proposal, if implemented, "would close the gaps that exist in originating providers' KYC obligations and ensures that providers cannot turn a blind eye while US phone networks are exploited and Americans are defrauded."

The proposal has drawn opposition from various groups. Eric Null, director of the Privacy & Data Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, stated that "to address the scourge of illegal robocalls, the FCC has unfortunately proposed to force every wireless subscriber in the nation to sacrifice their privacy and give up significant personal details before receiving or renewing a wireless line." Null indicated that individuals such as victims of domestic violence, journalists, or whistleblowers may require privacy and anonymity when obtaining a cell phone.

Chao Jun Liu, a senior legislative associate at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stated that "collecting all this data is horrible for everyone's privacy." The National Network to End Domestic Violence described that the FCC proposal examines whether providers should scrutinize virtual addresses, shared office locations, PO boxes, and mail-forwarding services. The network noted that many abuse survivors "may be living in a shelter, transitional housing, a hotel, a car, a friend's spare room, or another location they cannot safely disclose."

The Consumer Access & Choice Coalition, representing various Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and wireless service providers, submitted a filing opposing the plan. This coalition contended that if applied broadly, the proposals "would impose significant costs, privacy risks, cybersecurity exposure, and access barriers on lawful consumer-focused services and their users." They added that the plan would do little to deter "sophisticated illegal robocallers who can migrate to offshore providers, stolen or synthetic identities, compromised accounts, account farms, encrypted platforms, or other evasive channels." The coalition also stated that the plan "would raise serious legal questions, including whether Congress clearly authorized such a regime." The deadline for initial comments on the FCC docket is June 25, while the deadline for reply comments is July 27.