The U.S. government on Thursday gave phone carriers more power to restrict robocalls, in an effort to answer a common frustration among U.S. phone users.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to allow phone carriers to block suspicious calls by default, which it believes can reduce the number of harassment calls most phone users receive.

"We expect phone companies will move quickly to use this tool and help consumers block unwanted robocalls," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in an opinion published Thursday on USA Today.

Pai said phone users currently have the option of blocking robocalls, but by making such measures default could "greatly increase consumer adoption of these services and help stem the flow of scam robocalls."

Pai said the FCC is also working with phone carriers to implement "call authentication", or stronger detection of possible scam calls, by the end of the year.

"Recent progress suggests that the private sector is on track to meet the end-of-year deadline," Pai said.

Though all of the FCC's five commissioners supported the measure, some said tougher measures should have been put in place to protect consumers.

"I think robocall solutions should be free to consumers. Full stop," Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said. "I do not think that this agency should pat itself on the back for its efforts to reduce robocalls and then tell consumers to pay up."

The rate of robocalls has steadily increased in the United States. According to statistics by robocall blocking software YouMail 4.7 billion calls were placed in the United States in May, up from about 4.1 billion in June 2018.