In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) adopted on March 26, 2026, in Docket 26-52, the FCC turns its attention to the problem of American companies that locate customer service calling centers in foreign countries, often the Philippines. This has led to a loss of American jobs and a host of other problems, including “language, communication, and other barriers that make it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to get a satisfactory resolution to their problem.” According to the Commission,
Issues with offshore call centers extend beyond consumer frustrations and language barriers. For one, there are entire sets of privacy, data protection, and national security issues that are unique to call centers located abroad, especially when dealing with sensitive payment or account information. Bad actors working inside foreign call centers have been known to illicitly access customer data or information to advance criminal endeavors. And many foreign countries do not impose the same legal protections that we have in the United States. Persons trained at foreign call centers have also been known to use that training to help them run scams targeting American consumers. Additionally, there are a whole host of call centers overseas that are being used to flood America and our citizens with illegal robocalls, including to carry out financial crimes and victimize consumers living here. (NPRM, para. 2).
In the NPRM, the agency proposes rules to improve customer service communications and better protect consumers’ sensitive personal information by limiting use of foreign call centers and by improving standards in remaining foreign call center operations. It also seeks industry comments on extending these rules to emails, texts, and online chats. Finally, it explores ways to financially deter unlawful foreign-originated calls, such as initiating bond requirements.
These new requirements would apply to providers of telecommunications services, CMRS, interconnected VoIP service, cable television service, and DBS services, and affiliates of such providers. They would also apply to the use of foreign call centers for consumer communications relating to Internet access service offered by any of the foregoing providers or their affiliates.
Specific new requirements include:
Requiring providers that use offshore call centers to ensure that all calling staff at those call centers are proficient in both written and spoken American Standard English.
Limiting the percentage of customer service calls that providers may make from or answer at foreign call centers to a specified percentage (excluding any calls that would be subject to any rule adopted requiring certain types of calls to be handled only at call centers located within the United States). While no actual percentage is specified, the Commission seems to be leaning toward a maximum of 30 percent of calls handled through a foreign call center.
Requiring providers, when making or receiving calls involving a foreign call center, to inform customers at the beginning of each call that it is being handled outside of the United States.
Requiring providers, upon consumer request, to transfer calls to a call center located within the United States. This would apply both to calls made from a foreign call center and to calls answered at a foreign call center.
Requiring providers to track and report to the Commission on their compliance with any rules adopted. Providers would report on the American Standard English proficiency of their foreign call center workers; the number or percentage of calls they first route to foreign call centers and U.S. call centers; the number or percentage of calls they transfer to a call center in the United States; associated wait times; and dropped calls.
Requiring that providers handle certain consumer transactions, such as those involving passwords, multi-factor authentication information, social security numbers, and bank or credit card information, or any combination of this information, only at call centers located within the United States, regardless of the type of communications channel used to initiate the transaction.
Amending the broadband label rule to require providers subject to the broadband label requirements to display in the labels the percentage of customer service calls handled by a call representative located within the United States.
Industry comments on the NPRM are due 30 days after it appears in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 30 days later.