The Government and Accountability Office (GAO) criticized the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for its lack of efficiency and for ignoring as much as four out of every five consumer complaints. GAO issued a report covering the period from between 2003 and 2006.

The investigation followed numerous complaints that the Federal Communications Commission has a lacunose database, and the complaint processes are slow and it takes too long for them to respond. At the same time, the investigators couldn’t find any explanation for why the commission didn’t take action is most cases.

The FCC responded to accusations in GAO's report that some of the cases were closed without enforcement action either because no violations occurred or because the data were insufficient. However, "Without key management tools, FCC may have difficulty assuring Congress and other stakeholders that it is meeting its enforcement mission," the GAO report says.

GAO made some proposals on how FCC could develop a more effective approach to enforcing telecommunications laws and Commission rules: improve the methods of collecting and analyzing the data, and at the same time, "develop and implement additional performance management practices, such as outcome measures, to assess the performance and improve the accountability of FCC’s enforcement program."

FCC said GAO’s report relied on "information that is significantly out-of-date," rather than use more current information, which "provides a misleading description of the Commission’s current enforcement processes." FCC also added that the report doesn’t show the way the Commission handles consumer complaints now, different from the 2003-2006 period described in the report.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), formed in 1934, replaced the Federal Radio Commission. The United States government agency is directed by five Commissioners appointed by the current President and confirmed by the Senate for 5-year terms, except when filling an unexpired term. Currently there are three Republicans and two Democrats.