Advocates urge Commission to rethink proposal to delete important protections for consumers and small business owners
WASHINGTON – Today, in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a coalition of national consumer groups urged the FCC not to gut consumer protections for robocalls. The Commission proposes deleting two Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations that provide important protections for consumers and small business owners from telemarketing and other unwanted robocalls.
“Instead of removing effective protection against robocalls, the FCC should address the increasing number of unwanted and illegal robocalls plaguing telephone subscribers,” said Patrick Crotty, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). “Consumers and small business owners should never be subjected to unstoppable telemarketing and other robocalls.”
The FCC has proposed to repeal the requirement that companies keep a list of and refrain from calling people who have told them that they do not want calls–the company-specific do-not-call (DNC) list–and the requirement that robocallers include an automated opt-out option in all of their prerecorded calls. Both changes, advocates warn, are misdirected and will strip consumers of their ability to stop intrusive calls.
Deleting the company-specific DNC rules would leave consumers who have not registered their number on the National Do-Not-Call list powerless to stop unwanted telemarketing calls. Consumers who are on the National Do-Not-Call list would lose the power to stop telemarketing calls from callers who are exempt from the National Do-Not-Call rules, including any caller from which a consumer has made a purchase within 18-months. Simply buying something from a business should not subject consumers to 18-months of unstoppable telemarketing robocalls from that business.
Also, removing the requirement that prerecorded calls to cell phones include a simple automated way to stop the calls would strip small business owners of one of the few protections they have from intrusive telemarketing and other robocalls. Deleting this rule will make it more difficult for consumers and small businesses to stop calls that disrupt their lives and impact their livelihood.
“The FCC is obligated by Congress, and the American people, to reduce unwanted robocalls and telemarketing,” said Margot Saunders, senior attorney at NCLC. “This proposed rulemaking falls woefully short of that obligation. Instead of helping, the FCC’s proposal will eradicate the best method for telephone service subscribers to tell robocallers that their calls must stop.”
The letter was sent ahead of planned consideration of the proposals during the October Open Commission meeting.
Related Resources
- FCC Fact Sheet: Call Branding FNPRM: Improving Verification and Presentation of Caller Identification Information, October 7, 2025
- Strategies for Reducing Scam Calls and Texts by Holding VoIP Providers Accountable, September 30, 2025
- Advocates to FCC: Don’t ‘Delete’ Protections Against Unwanted Robocalls and Texts, April 29, 2025
- Scam Robocalls: Telecom Providers Profit, June 1, 2022
Support NCLC
Please support NCLC's work to advance consumer rights and economic justice with a tax-deductible contribution today!
Donate