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The Federal Communications Commission's 2015 declaratory ruling and order interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act has harmed businesses and their customers due to legitimate calls being deemed in violation of the act, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Reilly said during an open meeting Thursday attended by NAFCU.

O'Reilly said consumers have been deprived of important information due to the FCC's order. He also mentioned the order's burdensome standard for calls to reassigned numbers and noted that a change must be made. These are all concerns NAFCU has previously raised with the FCC.

NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Ann Kossachev attended Thursday's meeting, which included a vote to adopt the FCC's latest Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry regarding scam robocalls and malicious spoofing. The commission unanimously adopted both and is seeking public input on the rules.

In January, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to congratulate him on his new appointment and raise the association's continued concerns about the commission's order. Berger said the order "does more harm than good by making it extremely difficult for credit unions to contact their members about potentially fraudulent activity, identify theft, and data breaches."

Yesterday, O'Reilly said he hopes the commission will promulgate better TCPA interpretations that target bad actors without sweeping in innocent parties, and that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will make the "right" decision in the ACA International v. FCC lawsuit, which challenges the validity of the 2015 order.

NAFCU joined this lawsuit in September 2015. Oral arguments were heard in the case in October; the court could issue a decision at any time.

Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn also delivered remarks during Thursday's meeting, noting that illegal robocalls and telemarketing calls are the top consumer complaint received by the FCC.