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NAFCU, trades urge FCC to address 'erroneous' call blocking
In response to a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPR), NAFCU joined with other financial trade associations to urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to "promptly initiate a rulemaking to implement other, critically important provisions of the TRACED Act that require the Commission to address erroneous blocking or mislabeling of legitimate calls."
The FCC in April issued a report and order to require voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN – a caller identification framework meant to target illegal robocalls – by June 30, 2021, and many have already begun to implement the framework.
Earlier this month, NAFCU separately responded to the FNPR, urging the FCC to "ensure complete transparency of call labeling to calling parties, effective redress mechanisms for incorrectly labeled calls and the accurate labeling of a caller's identity."
NAFCU also reiterated several concerns with the framework to commissioners' staff during several meetings in March.
In the joint trades letter, the coalition voiced concerns of legitimate calls being mislabeled and noted "the piecemeal roll-out of STIR/SHAKEN means many legitimate calls will not be authenticated and may be adversely labelled and likely go unanswered or even blocked by consumers or their voice providers."
Additionally, NAFCU previously filed a petition and encouraged the FCC it to expedite efforts to ensure financial institutions can contact consumers on matters related to the coronavirus pandemic during the national emergency. NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood voiced support for the request in a recent letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The CFPB has also backed this request.
NAFCU has actively worked with the FCC on efforts to modernize the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for many years, and will continue its advocacy to ensure credit unions can contact their members regarding important, time-sensitive information, without fear of frivolous litigation.