Dive Brief:
- The Federal Communications Commission is exploring new rules focused on bringing call center jobs into the U.S., the office of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced Wednesday.
- The proposed rule would require communications providers regulated by the FCC to disclose a customer service agent’s location, limit call volume from overseas contact centers and allow consumers to ask to be transferred to support from a U.S.-based location.
- The FCC is also looking into requiring workers in offshore contact centers to be proficient in American Standard English and ways to address “illegal robocalls” originating in foreign contact centers. Its efforts could include the use of bonds or tariffs as appropriate.
Dive Insight:
The proposed rules are the latest effort by the U.S. government to bring more customer service jobs into the country.
Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. companies outsource at least one department to offshore contact centers, according to the FCC. The agency stated that this strategy eliminates jobs and can lead to poor customer service.
“Americans get frustrated when they call a U.S. business and end up connecting with a call center located abroad,” Carr said in the announcement. “Language and communications barriers often make it difficult for callers to promptly and efficiently get the results they want. And these foreign-based call centers often create a heightened security risk as well.”
Customer service often requires sensitive customer information, but foreign countries don’t necessarily offer the same legal protections as the U.S., heightening the risks to "privacy, data protection and even national security," the FCC said.
Call center data security is a complicated matter, but major offshoring companies operate globally and are incentivized to keep information safe, according to experts. The danger more often lies in splitting data between companies, rather than it falling in the hands of bad actors.
The FCC isn’t the only part of the federal government digging into contact center regulations. Last summer, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation to discourage companies from moving customer service operations offshore or replacing live agents with AI.
Legislation passed through Congress could have a wider reach than the proposed FCC rules, which are limited to affecting fixed and mobile wireless services, broadcast television and radio, satellite, and similar industries under the agency’s jurisdiction.
The FCC will consider the proposed rules at its open commission meeting on March 26.
