Why It Matters
Businesses that make automated calls and texts could have to honor consumers' requests to stop sooner, under Federal Communications Commission proposed changes to robocall rules. The proposal would affect robocallers and businesses that make automated calls or texts across the country, along with the consumers who receive them.
The FCC says it is acting to ensure "that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules that govern robocalls continue to evolve with changes in technology and industry practices." The agency cites no executive order by number or title.
The agency estimates there are 34.75 million small businesses in the United States, representing 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses, and says proposed changes "may entail some compliance burdens and costs on small entities" such as requiring callers to alter existing communications systems, but provides no dollar estimate of those costs.
The FCC is seeking comment on a joint-letter proposal to shorten the time callers have to honor a consumer's revocation of consent, from the current 10-business-day maximum set in the 2024 TCPA Consent Order (published October 11, 2024) to seven business days, unless a caller shows that longer processing is reasonable.
The FCC also asks whether that shorter window should apply only to callers that have already designated an exclusive revocation method, and whether varying timeframes would cause consumer confusion.
The Broader Context
The 2024 TCPA Consent Order also created the one-way texting exemption now codified at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10), which lets text senders use protocols that block reply-text revocations as long as they disclose the limitation and provide an alternative revocation method.
The FCC now asks whether to eliminate that exemption, which would require all covered text senders to support reply-text revocation, and whether any such requirement should apply only to telemarketing texts rather than informational or notification messages, to limit burdens on small entities and public institutions such as schools.
The FCC further asks whether callers must offer a single "revoke all" mechanism allowing a consumer to cancel consent to all robocalls at once, rather than only the category of call that prompted the request, and whether that mechanism must be automated.
On affiliates, the FCC asks whether to modify the existing standard under which a do-not-call request applies only to the specific entity that called, not its affiliates, unless the consumer would reasonably expect otherwise, and whether any revised rule should cover all robocalls rather than only exempted and telemarketing calls.
The Bottom Line
The FCC says its objective is "to ensure that our rules reflect advances in technology and regulatory changes that permit callers to process revocation requests in a timely and cost-efficient manner to ensure that consumers can exercise their right to control which robocalls they wish to receive."
Because this is a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC has not adopted any regulatory text.
Comments are due on or before November 25, and reply comments are due on or before December 28.
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