Robocalls are more than an annoyance. They're a threat. Scammers, identity thieves, and other unsavory types use them to target victims. One particularly enterprising band of low-lifes even posed as IRS agents to pilfer $26.5 million from people. "Americans are fed up," says Federal Communications Commission boss Tom Wheeler. "Robocalls are a scourge. It's the number one complaint that we hear from consumers on a daily basis."

To address those complaints, Apple, Alphabet (you know—the folks who own Google), AT&T, Comcast and other tech companies are joining an FCC task force charged with ending the scourge of automated pre-recorded telemarketing calls.

Whether they'll succeed is another matter entirely.