FCC rule lets callers limit ‘stop’ requests to one type of robocall

By Delphine Brooks

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission will let banks, utilities and other callers treat a consumer’s “stop” request as covering only the type of automated call or text it answers, rather than every robocall from that company, under a final rule set for publication in the Federal Register on Monday.

The change reverses a piece of the commission’s 2024 robocall consent order known as the “revoke all” rule. The commission voted 3-0 on Sept. 30 to adopt the new order, according to the American Bankers Association’s account of the vote, and the full order was released Oct. 1.

“As we have learned from experience, the Commission’s 2024 ‘revoke all’ rule did not align with consumer expectations and, in many cases, made it harder for them to get the calls they do want,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement. “For instance, if your bank started sending you unwanted marketing communications, the FCC’s ‘revoke all’ rule would have prevented you from blocking those without also blocking the fraud alerts you do want.”

Carr said the decision “preserves a consumer’s ability to opt-out while ensuring that they get the calls they want,” and tied a related cleanup of the robocall rules to the commission’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” deregulatory initiative, according to the statement.

The rule takes effect 30 days after publication, according to the notice. The Federal Register’s document page lists the date as Nov. 25. The notice says the change supersedes an earlier delay that had pushed the relevant part of the 2024 rule to Jan. 31, 2027, and that the commission declined one party’s request for up to 12 months to comply.

What changes for callers and consumers

Under the current rule, a consumer who replies “stop” to a payment reminder could cut off all future robocalls and texts that need consent from that caller, including fraud alerts, multi-factor authentication codes, appointment reminders and utility outage calls, the notice says. The commission concluded that the requirement “is overinclusive and may lead to unintended consequences that do not align with the consumer’s actual intent.”

The new rule applies only to informational robocalls. A revocation sent in response to telemarketing or an advertisement still revokes consent to all future telemarketing robocalls from that caller, according to the notice.

Callers may also now designate one of three methods as the only way to revoke consent: an automated voice or key-press opt-out on the call; specific standardized words such as “stop” in reply to a text; or a website or telephone number the caller provides. The caller must clearly disclose that method on the call or in the text. Callers that do not designate a method must keep honoring revocations made “in any reasonable manner,” the notice says.

Text senders can meet the disclosure requirement by naming just one standardized word, but must still honor any of the standardized words, according to the notice.

Fraud alerts from banks

The order also loosens a 2015 condition that let financial institutions send exempt fraud and data-breach alerts only to a wireless number the customer had personally provided. Banks may now use numbers from a “reliable source,” including a number supplied by an authorized family member on the account, one captured when the customer calls the institution, or one in records obtained from another financial institution, the notice says. The commission said it was granting a 2015 American Bankers Association petition for reconsideration to the extent it asked the agency to revisit that condition.

The ABA had long sought both changes, according to its Banking Journal. In June, the ABA, the National Consumer Law Center and the debt-collection trade group ACA International jointly proposed the revisions, the journal reported.

Commissioner Olivia Trusty said in a statement that she “especially appreciate[s] the work of trade associations and consumer advocates who came together to develop proposals we adopt in this Order.”

The notice says one party opposed the revisions in an ex parte filing, arguing they make compliance more complex. The commission said industry and consumer group support was “persuasive evidence that it does not.”

More changes proposed

In a companion proposed rule also set for publication Monday, the commission is asking whether to shorten the current 10-business-day deadline for honoring revocation requests, possibly to seven business days as the joint letter suggested. It is also asking whether to require two-way texting so consumers can always opt out by reply, whether to mandate a one-step “revoke all” option, and how revocations should apply to affiliates. Comments are due 30 days after publication, with reply comments due 60 days after, in CG Docket No. 02-278.

The commission’s mail address for paper filings is its headquarters at 45 L Street NE in Washington, according to the proposal.

The Washington Inquisitor is seeking comment from the FCC’s media relations office, the American Bankers Association, the National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America and the Independent Community Bankers of America. None had responded by publication.