FCC Wants Your Cable Guy Back Home: No More Overseas Scams
Published Date: 4/23/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The FCC wants to bring more customer service jobs back to the U.S. by limiting foreign call centers and making sure any that remain follow tougher rules. This will help protect your personal info and fight scam calls from overseas. Companies offering phone, internet, and TV services need to get ready to follow these new rules, with public feedback due by late June 2026.
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Analyzed Economic Effects
9 provisions identified: 9 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Sensitive data handled only in U.S.
The FCC proposes that transactions involving passwords, multi-factor authentication information, Social Security numbers, and bank or credit card information must be handled only at call centers located within the United States. The NPRM proposes excluding these transactions from any foreign-call percentage calculations.
Require U.S. English proficiency
The FCC proposes requiring that staff at offshore call centers be proficient in written and spoken American Standard English, including tone, idioms, and culture. The proposal asks whether providers should test employees (TOEFL/TOEIC-style or similar) and whether proficiency should be measured per employee or as an average score.
Cap on foreign-handled customer calls
The FCC proposes limiting the percentage of customer service calls that providers may make from or answer at foreign call centers and seeks comment on metrics and phase-in. The NPRM gives a concrete example asking whether a 30% limit would be appropriate and asks whether the cap should apply monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Right to transfer to U.S. representatives
The FCC proposes to require providers to transfer, on consumer request, calls to a call center located within the United States and to ensure transfers are prompt with wait times no longer than for calls initially routed to U.S. centers. The NPRM seeks comment on how quickly transfers must occur and how to measure completion of transfer.
Ban use of call centers in ‘foreign adversary’ nations
The FCC proposes prohibiting providers from using call centers located in designated “foreign adversary” nations and asks whether providers should be barred from using any call center that employs citizens or residents of such nations. The NPRM frames this as a national-security and consumer-privacy protection.
Financial deterrents for illegal foreign calls
The FCC seeks comment on imposing fees or bond requirements to make unlawful foreign-originated calls more expensive, including questions about who would post bonds, how draws would be triggered, and whether bonds could be used to satisfy future enforcement actions.
Extend rules to texts, chats, and email
The FCC asks whether the proposed protections—such as English-proficiency rules, caps, and limits on sensitive transactions—should also apply to non-voice channels like texts, online chat, and email. The NPRM seeks data on how often foreign staff handle these other channels.
Disclosure when calls are offshore
The FCC proposes requiring providers to inform customers at the start of a call when it is being handled outside the United States and seeks comment on required wording, whether to name the country, and whether the disclosure should offer an immediate option to transfer to a U.S.-based representative.
Show U.S. call support rate on broadband labels
The FCC proposes amending the broadband point-of-sale label to display the percentage of customer service calls handled by a representative located within the United States and asks how often and to what precision the percentage should be computed and updated.
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