WASHINGTON–While both CUNA and NAFCU have raised strong objections, the FCC plans to move forward Thursday with a board meeting at which it will consider its declaratory ruling on robocalls—and how to stop them.
It’s a move that baffles many.
“Frankly, this process the FCC is engaged in is quite extraordinary when you consider the regulatory processes in place at other agencies,” said CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, Ryan Donovan. “Typically, there is an (Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) with a sufficient period of time for stakeholders to comment and for the regulator to consider and make changes.”
But that hasn’t been the case with the process leading up to the vote this week on a declaratory ruling that would allow voice service
providers to automatically block suspected robocalls unless a consumer opts out. As CUToday.info has reported, both NAFCU and CUNA have raised formal objections to the process and the proposal.
Short Comment Period
Donovan noted the FCC issued its declaratory ruling draft on May 16 with a comment period that ran only through May 31. The FCC board now plans to meet June 6.
“They have received several-hundred comments, including a lot from credit unions, and the word from the FCC through public statements is they intend to move forward, notwithstanding the comments of stakeholders,” said Donovan. “We have significant concerns regarding this.”
Those concerns include that credit union calls to members will be blocked, that credit unions may not know that their calls have been blocked, and that members may not know their credit union’s calls are being blocked.
Where’s the Resolution?
“There is no mechanism (proposed) for resolving legal calls that are blocked,” said Donovan. “The proposal allows consumers to opt out of all calls that are not in their contact lists. There are a lot of problems with what the FCC is proposing, which is why we are encouraging them to take more time. We will continue to be engaged on this following the end of this first process.”