WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission — the government watchdog responsible for policing the public airwaves — does an excellent job of processing consumer complaints, but it falls short on the record keeping end, according to congressional auditors.In a report released Thursday, the Government Accountability Office said the FCC processes about 95-percent of the hundreds of thousands of complaints it receives annually, but it “needs to improve how it collects and analyzes data on complaints received, investigations conducted and enforcement actions taken to better manage its enforcement program.”
The GAO’s report was based on 454,000 complaints the FCC received between 2003 and 2006.
Of particular concern to the GAO was an inability to determine from FCC records why 83-percent of closed complaint investigations resulted in no enforcement action. Although the FCC responded afterward that in the vast majority of cases a lack of information or the absence of true violations caused the case closures, the GAO report criticized the agency’s procedures, noting “The FCC does not systematically record these data” and suggesting that it should. The lack of follow-through on closed cases prevents the agency from “assuring Congress and other stakeholders that it is meeting its enforcement mission,” the report stated.
GAO investigators soundly criticized the FCC’s “poor data systems,” which obscure answers to questions like “How long does an investigation take?” and “What is the total dollar amount assessed in fines?”
The FCC is responsible not only for keeping an eye on decency in broadcast media, but also for monitoring the telecommunications and wireless industries. It’s the wireless component of the FCC’s mission that is of most concern to Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), who would like enforcement authority for that segment to be shifted to the states. Markey chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. He used the GAO’s investigation, which was commissioned at his behest, to push for that goal.
“The GAO’s report makes clear that any legislation establishing national consumer protection rules for the wireless market must have meaningful, supplementary enforcement at the state level,” Markey said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, solely relying upon FCC enforcement for consumer protection is utterly unreasonable in light of the GAO’s findings.”
Markey is not alone in his critical assessment of the FCC. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI) has launched an oversight investigation targeting the agency.
“It appears that the FCC has abdicated its duty to protect consumers,” he said in a prepared statement released Thursday.
