adminThe D.C. Court of Appeals overturned the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) definition of an autodialer and vacated the FCC’s reassigned number approach in a lawsuit brought against the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). CUNA filed an amicus brief in the case, and has expressed numerous concerns about the TCPA’s negative effects on credit union-member communication. Read the TCPA legal challenge opinion here.
“Today the D.C. Court of Appeals recognized some of the important concerns CUNA has been raising in our legal advocacy efforts participating in this litigation, as well as in our Petition before the FCC,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We appreciate that the court has recognized the arbitrary and capricious nature of FCC interpretations of the TCPA that have been so problematic for credit unions by overturning the definition of an autodialer and vacating the FCC’s reassigned number approach. We have continuously been seeking clarification on both of these issues and will continue to fight for complete clarity for credit unions who are communicating with their members using modern technology.”
The FCC’s July 2015 omnibus ruling on the TCPA has created numerous compliance concerns for credit unions, who are urged by financial regulators to ensure members are notified about important account information, but the TCPA ruling limits business-consumer communications.
CUNA filed a petition with the FCC in September outlining potential avenues for relief under the TCPA, and the FCC opened it up for public comment a week later. Most comments on the petition supported CUNA’s position.
More than a dozen bipartisan members of Congress wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in December asking for CUNA-requested clarifications to the TCPA.
