GATINEAU — The CRTC has approved Bell Canada’s application to conduct a 90-day test of an artificial intelligence-based system the telco has developed for blocking fraudulent and scam phone calls, the Commission announced in a decision Tuesday.
Bell first made the request in July 2019 and wanted to conduct the call-blocking trial using AI technology last fall. The Commission came back with an information disclosure directive in January, which Bell subsequently responded to and provided the required information.
In its decision today approving Bell’s 90-day call-blocking trial, the Commission set out a number of conditions, including:
- Bell shall file, on a monthly basis for the duration of the trial, a report containing the total number and frequency of blocked calls each week, in the manner specified in the confidential letter (sent separately to Bell from the Commission), including the date(s) on which the calls were blocked and where such calls entered Bell’s networks, to the extent such information is known. The reports are due 15 days after the end of each 30-day period of the trial.
- With regard to false positives,
- Prior to the start of the trial, Bell shall
- establish and maintain, for the duration of the trial, a telephone number and email address for TSPs to submit to Bell complaints or notices about possible false positives; and
- notify TSPs offering voice communications services of the telephone number and email address for TSPs to submit complaints or notices of possible false positives. This notification must inform the TSPs of the service standard outlined in item b) below.
- Bell shall maintain a 24-hour turnaround time from the time they are first notified of a potential false positive, either by a TSP or otherwise, to the resolution of the false positive.
- Within the mandated 24-hour service standard, Bell shall file with the Commission, and provide to a complainant TSP, a report containing all supporting evidence used to reach their determination(s) on whether a false positive occurred, including the information specified in the confidential letter. Any deviations from this service standard are to be immediately reported to the Commission, along with justification.
- Where Bell has become aware of a false positive, other than by way of a complaint, they shall file with the Commission, within 24 hours of becoming aware of the matter, a report containing the details of remediation mechanisms on a per-incident basis.
- Bell shall unblock any and all telecommunications blocked as a result of a false positive as soon as they confirm such a result. This unblocking must occur within the mandated 24-hour service standard.
- Bell shall implement certain unblocking measures, as specified in the confidential letter.
- Prior to the start of the trial, Bell shall
- Bell shall file, for each 30-day period during the trial, a report containing the number of false positives per total calls blocked each week, an explanation as to how these false positives were detected and why the false positives occurred, and complete details of the measures taken to prevent the reoccurrence of similar instances and such other information regarding the unblocking of calls as specified in the confidential letter. The reports are due 15 days after the end of each 30-day period of the trial.
- Bell shall file, within 30 days of the completion of the trial, a final report of the trial and its outcomes, including an analysis of the efficacy of the call-blocking system and a summary of the aforementioned reports and data.
- Bell shall not use or disclose any personal or otherwise confidential information used to detect fraudulent and scam calls for any purpose other than for the purpose of implementing the trial of the call-blocking system approved in this decision.
- Upon request by the Commission, Bell shall provide any additional data or reports in relation to this trial, within such time frame as may be determined by the Commission.
