Mississippi’s Public Service Commission Seeks Phone App To Report Telemarketers

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s Public Service Commission wants to create a cellphone application for consumers to report unwanted telemarketing calls.

Commissioners voted 3-0 Wednesday to ask the state’s Information Technology Services Department to hire a company to create the application.

People could report unwanted calls on phones, without filling out formal complaint forms.

The application is projected to cost $42,000, then $7,000 yearly to maintain. Central District Commissioner Cecil Brown, a Democrat, says costs would come from fees the commission collects from telemarketers.

Southern District Commissioner Sam Britton, a Republican, asked to solicit vendors to write the app for free, but says such vendors could charge consumers.

The commission began July 1 registering cellphones on its No Call Registry to help cut telemarketer calls, in the same way it already registers landlines.