Newsroom

June 25, 2019

NAFCU's Thaler: Protect CUs' ability to communicate with members

TCPA

Ahead of today's markup of the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (H.R. 3375), NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler told the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications & Technology that the legislation is a step in the right direction, but is still concerned that it does not go far enough to protect legitimate businesses, such as credit unions.

"Although this bill is a vast improvement from the original draft, NAFCU and its members remain concerned that some of the bill's language does not go far enough to ensure legitimate, time-sensitive communications are not affected," wrote Thaler.

The bill includes an improvement which requires the FCC to issue an order on "autodialer" within six months of enactment -  NAFCU has continuously advocated for the FCC to resolve this issue promptly.

While NAFCU is supportive of a comprehensive safe harbor for callers who use the reassigned numbers database that inadvertently make a call to a reassigned number, Thaler said a section of the bill could pose challenges to credit unions' seeking to make legitimate calls to their members.

"Continued uncertainty regarding provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) has dramatically increased litigation and caused confusion for callers and consumers alike," noted Thaler. "Any language amending the TCPA should clearly recognize the distinction between illegal robocalls and legitimate calls made using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS or autodialer)."

Also today, the Federal Trade Commission will host a Robocall Enforcement Sweep in conjunction with other federal, state and local law enforcement at their Midwest Region Office in Chicago. According to the commission, "Operation Call it Quits" marks the latest joint-agency crackdown on telemarketers responsible for more than a billion illegal robocalls.  

NAFCU has actively worked with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on efforts to modernize the TCPA for more than three years. The association previously shared its concerns related to the definition of an autodialer and the need for clarity under the TCPA to ensure credit unions can contact their members without fear of breaking the law.

Earlier this month, NAFCU joined with nine other trades to share concerns that "urgent calls affecting consumer health, safety, and financial well-being" could be erroneously blocked by the recently approved declaratory ruling related to robocalls by the FCC.

The association has also met with the CFPB and Treasury Department to discuss TCPA reforms and how credit unions will be impacted. NAFCU will monitor today's hearing.