ITS OFFICIAL: FCC Files Final Rule on DNO SMS Blocking– May 11, 2023 Effective Date

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As we reported back in February and March of this year, the FCC has approved a new rule requiring carriers to block texts using a do-not-originate list designed to designed to prevent messages that are highly likely to be fraudulent.

The final procedural requirements to finalize the rule cleared today, meaning that the CFR will be updated effective May 11, 2023.

The new provision reads as follows:

§ 64.1200 Delivery restrictions.
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(p) A mobile wireless provider must block a text message purporting to originate from a North American Numbering Plan number on a reasonable do-not-originate list. A list so limited in scope that it leaves out obvious North American Numbering Plan numbers that could be included with little effort may be deemed unreasonable. The do-not originate list may include only:

(1) North American Numbering Plan Numbers for which the subscriber to the number has requested that texts purporting to originate from that number be blocked;

(2) North American Numbering Plan numbers that are not valid;

(3) Valid North American Numbering Plan numbers that are not allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator; and

(4) Valid North American Numbering Plan numbers that are allocated to a provider by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, but are unused, so long as the provider blocking the message is the allocatee of the number and confirms that the number is unused or has obtained verification from the allocatee that the number is unused at the time of blocking.

(q) Paragraph (p) of this section may contain an information-collection and/or recordkeeping requirement. Compliance with paragraph (p) will not be required until this paragraph (q) is removed or contains a compliance date, which will not occur until after the Office of Management and Budget completes review of such requirements pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act or until after the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau determines that such review is not required.

(r) A mobile wireless provider must provide a point of contact or ensure its aggregator partners or blocking contractors that block text messages on its network provide a point of contact to resolve complaints about erroneous blocking from message senders that can document that their messages have been blocked. Such point of contact may be the same point of contact for voice call blocking error complaints.

If you have questions about this new rule, feel free to reach out.

In the meantime, digital advertisers and performance marketers still have the Sword of Damocles hanging over their head in the form of the FCC’s NPRM on Public Knowledge’s proposal to outright ban the transfer of consent forms.

BREAKING: FCC PUBLISHES NPRM– COMMENT DATE SET FOR MAY 8 WITH REPLIES DUE JUNE 6!

This NPRM is a huge deal and–unfortunately–folks are STILL misstating the potential impact here.

Anyway, deadline to comment is May 8, 2023.

REACH is holding a meeting on Friday of this week to discuss. More soon.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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