The Federal Trade Commission said it is banning robocalls -- prerecorded commercial calls -- and that violators would face fines of up to $16,000 per message.
"American consumers have made it crystal clear that few things annoy them more than the billions of commercial telemarketing robocalls they receive every year," said Jon Leibowitz, the FTC's Chairman.
Currently, robocalls must offer consumers an automated opt-out mechanism that is either voice- or keypress-activated.
The new amendment now protects all consumers from getting most robocalls.
Public service announcements and "informational" calls that are not trying to sell goods and services, such as a message alerting a traveler that a flight has been delayed or debt-collection notices, will be exempt from the ban.
Other calls that are allowed include those from politicians, banks, telephone carriers, most charities and some health-care messages such as prescription notifications.
Since the rule has been expected by telemarketers, they have already started to phase out robocalls, instead using people rather than automated systems to bypass the rule.
But consumers can prohibit all unsolicited calls, live or prerecorded, by adding their phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Violators will face penalties of up to $16,000 a call. The FTC is asking people to report questionable robocalls by visiting their Web site or calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.
