It would be easy enough for a regulator to simply fine any company whose products are advertised or sold through telemarketing.
Make it the companies problem that some of their marketing contractors or affiliate schemes lead to illegal calling.
- which regulator has the power to fine a company when it didn't do anything wrong?
- how would you prevent abuse, e.g. if I want to destroy your small business, I can just spend a few thousand dollars on a robocall campaign selling your products (not even claiming to be you)
That same difficulty would arise when trying to identify those abusing the process in the way I described.
There is a lack of will
Small fines, for the issuer of the number used to make calls reported by more than N consumers, should do the trick. Small to accommodate false positives. Fine to create an incentive to vet before issuing numbers. Number issuers because they’re less numerous and clearly in the FCC’s jurisdiction.
If one wanted larger fines, N could be lowered but only count complaints with a recording of the call and proof it came from that number (e.g. a telephone bill). Harder to make a complaint, but also harder to turn the mechanism into a home for general grievances.
Spoofing numbers could be considered a criminal organization
Take down every single person
Management/c-suite? Sure. Your typical telemarketer working at minimum wage? No.
If they're claiming to be the IRS so they can scam you out of iTunes gift cards, why not? They know what they're a part of.
Actions need to have consequences. But they currently have none