CRTC new call-blocking rules preventing spam calls come into effect today

Canadians can expect to have fewer spam phone calls, as a new call-blocking system came into effect today.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is responsible for the new call-blocking system, which works by protecting Canadians against unsolicited and illegitimate calls.

According to the federal government, telecommunications service providers had until December 19, 2019, to implement this system within their networks.

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With the implementation of this system, calls with caller identification information that either exceeds 15 digits or does not conform to a number that can be dialled (for example, 000-000-0000) will be blocked before reaching the subscriber.

Service providers that offer their subscribers call filtering services, which provide more advanced call management features, will not have to implement call blocking.

“Canadians need to have the right tools to manage nuisance calls. With the implementation of a call-blocking system, calls that are malformed will be stopped within the network,” said Ian Scott, chairperson and CEO of the CRTC.

“At the same time, we are working with the industry on other tools to better protect Canadians from nuisance calls, including a process to alert them when the caller ID has been spoofed.”

You now have an additional level of protection against nuisance calls! As mandated by the CRTC last year, call blocking comes into force on December 19, 2019. https://t.co/07yA6qW4wc pic.twitter.com/MKIFq9ut9v

— CRTCeng (@CRTCeng) December 17, 2019