At its open meeting on October 28, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to consider a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that could significantly alter the regulatory landscape for business communications. A central component of the NPRM is a proposal to “simplify, streamline, or eliminate” several long-standing rules related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act.

The Commission’s stated objective is to modernize its anti-robocall framework by removing requirements that may have become outdated due to advancements in technology and changes in calling practices.  For the ecommerce industry and other businesses that rely on voice and text communications, these proposed changes warrant close attention.

Rules Proposed for Elimination or Modification

The NPRM outlines several specific TCPA-related rules that the Commission is proposing to delete or revise. The following section details these proposals and the FCC’s stated rationale for each.

Call Abandonment Rules

The FCC proposes to eliminate the rules that prohibit telemarketers from disconnecting an unanswered call before 15 seconds or four rings have passed. The proposal would also remove the cap that limits abandoned calls—instances where a predictive dialer makes a connection but no live agent is available—to no more than three percent of all telemarketing calls.

• FCC Rationale: The Commission suggests that these rules may no longer be necessary to protect consumers. It notes that calling practices and the efficiency of predictive dialer technology have evolved since the rules were first implemented.²

Company-Specific Do-Not-Call (DNC) Lists

A significant proposal involves deleting the requirement for callers to maintain an internal, company-specific do-not-call list. For decades, businesses have been obligated to record and honor any consumer’s request to stop receiving calls from their specific company.

• FCC Rationale: The Commission posits that the National DNC Registry, in conjunction with more recent rules governing how consumers can revoke consent, might now provide sufficient protection without the need for this separate, company-level mandate. The FCC also acknowledges that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) maintains a similar requirement, and it seeks comment on potential confusion that could arise from having different rules at the two agencies.

“Global” Consent Revocation Rule

The FCC proposes to delete or modify the “global opt-out” rule. This rule, whose implementation has been delayed, requires that when a consumer revokes consent for one type of communication (e.g., a marketing text), that revocation must apply to all robocalls and robotexts from that caller, even on unrelated matters.

• FCC Rationale: The Commission now believes this rule “unduly restricts consumers’ ability to receive wanted calls”. For example, a customer opting out of marketing messages could unintentionally block transactional communications they expect to receive, such as fraud alerts or shipping notifications. The proposed change would allow for more specific, topic-based opt-outs.

Fraud Alert Call Limitations

The NPRM proposes to eliminate a rule that limits financial institutions, when making fraud alert calls under a TCPA exception, to contacting only the specific phone number a consumer provided for that purpose.

• FCC Rationale: According to the Commission, this limitation “might unduly restrict critical calls about the consumer’s financial accounts,” potentially hindering a financial institution’s ability to reach its customers in a timely manner about suspected fraud.

Permissive Call Blocking Rules

Finally, the FCC proposes to eliminate older rules that permit voice service providers to block calls from numbers on a do-not-originate (DNO) list or from numbers that are invalid, unallocated, or unused.

• FCC Rationale: These permissive rules are now considered outdated because the Commission has subsequently adopted rules that require providers to block these categories of calls, making the earlier permissions duplicative.

Opportunity for Industry Input: The Public Comment Period

Should the FCC vote to adopt the NPRM at its October 28 meeting, the document will be published in the Federal Register. This publication will trigger a formal public comment period, providing a critical window for industry stakeholders to submit feedback directly to the Commission.

Typically, initial comments are due 30 days after publication, with reply comments due 60 days after publication.  This process allows interested parties, including ecommerce businesses, to provide data, analysis, and real-world perspective on the potential operational and economic impacts of the proposed rule changes.

The Ecommerce Innovation Alliance (EIA) is closely following this proceeding and intends to be an active participant during the comment period. The EIA will analyze the full text of the NPRM and prepare formal comments that reflect the interests and concerns of the ecommerce sector. We encourage our members to engage with us as we develop our response to ensure the industry’s voice is clearly heard in this important regulatory process.

Join the EIA today to help strengthen and shape policies that affect all ecommerce businesses. Together, we can continue to create the future of ecommerce. Subscribe to EIA email updates to stay informed on key developments and their impact on your business.