AT & T becomes the first major mobile phone company to automatically block spam calls

AT & T announced on Tuesday its intention to start automatically blocking fraudulent phone calls, becoming the first major mobile phone company to do so by default, according to CNN.

This free service comes one month after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to allow telephone operators to block suspicious calls by default in order to strengthen the industry's efforts to filter the calls. automated calls and fraudsters.

In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, the company said that "the recent FCC action builds on a multi-year effort to allow wider adoption of call blocking tools and to providers of better protect their customers and their networks ". AT & T, owner of WarnerMedia CNN company.

"AT & T remains committed to working with the government and industry partners in the ongoing battle against unwanted and illegal automated calls," the company added.

Prior to the decision, AT & T gave its customers the option of opting for a service attempting to block unsolicited phone calls. But with the company's decision this week, customers will automatically subscribe to the call blocking service with the option of not participating.

Other operators offer similar options for blocking spam calls, but AT & T is up to now the only operator to block default calls.

The announcement also comes in the wake of the Senate's passage, in May, of a law that would impose new fines for illegal automated calls, which will be one of the efforts Congress's most important to fight the plague of billions of unwanted calls that worsen US consumers every year.