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SD Attorney General, Others Urge Call Blocking On Phones

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined counterparts in over four dozen states in calling on major phone companies to offer call-blocking technology.

The attorneys general have sent a letter to the companies’ chief executives saying that a recent rule clarification by the Federal Communications Commission shows federal law doesn’t prohibit the call-blocking service.

The letter was sent to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and CenturyLink.

Jackley says consumers nationwide are “plagued” with unwanted telemarketing calls and texts and should be given the “basic right” to block them.

At a U.S. Senate hearing in 2013, phone industry representatives said legal barriers prevented carriers from implementing advanced call-blocking technology.

Last year, attorneys general asked the FCC for the clarification, which the agency issued last month, prompting the letter sent to executives.