Bell asks CRTC to make AI scam call blocking permanent

BCE Inc. has officially asked the CRTC to make its artificial intelligence-based call blocking system permanent, weeks after asking for an interim extension of the originally temporary scheme. “The overwhelming benefits of our trials are undeniable. Through the operation of our blocking system we prevented more than 200 million Fraudulent and Scam Calls from reaching our own customers and, equally importantly, the customers of other whose calls transit our network,” Bell said in the application posted to the CRTC website Thursday. “The Commission now has a significant record demonstrating this benefit together with an unblemished record of our compliance with the various oversight measures adopted over our prior call blocking trials.” The CRTC approved Bell’s application to conduct a three-month trial in June, which is scheduled to end on Oct. 12. The scheme has been the subject of concerns around transparency and privacy. Concordia University associate professor Fenwick McKelvey said last month it was worrisome that public discussion and deliberation about the scheme had been “fairly limited” and said there needed to be “sober reflection” about the scheme being rolled out “dramatically and quickly.” Bell has kept details of the technology used to block calls confidential, but showed its methodology to a number of intervenors who signed a non-disclosure agreement. In March, the Canadian chapter of the Internet Society told The Wire Report it was still unhappy with Bell’s scheme after having viewed the confidential documents. In its application to make the system permanent, Bell proposed to again share details about the proposal with CRTC-vetted interested parties who sign an NDA. It also said that since “the mechanism has repeatedly demonstrated its worth and that it is no longer experimental...it is no longer appropriate, nor administratively proportionate, for us to file reports with the same frequency or containing the same level of detail prescribed for the 90-day Call Blocking Trial.” Instead of filing monthly reports, Bell suggested filing “reports annually, or at such other times or with such frequency and detail as the Commission requires or deems appropriate.”

Bell asks CRTC to make AI scam call blocking permanent

Brief | October 2, 2020

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Bell asks CRTC to make AI scam call blocking permanent

Brief | October 2, 2020

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