Updates to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) pose a risk to member communications, says America’s Credit Unions. The risk comes from specific wording in the 2024 TCA order under the “revoke all” rule, which revokes consumer consent for all robotexts or automated communications, even if the member only opts out of one kind.

While the rule is aimed at increasing spam protections for consumers, many of whom receive multiple robotexts and calls per day, a large portion of which are spam, it could impede a credit union’s attempt to deliver important information to its members. For example, if a member opts out of marketing messages from the credit unions, under the terms of the TCA order, the credit union could also no longer send them automated messages regarding suspected fraud, overdrawn accounts, etc.

Since the updated order’s introduction, America’s Credit Unions has been communicating with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impart the severity of the order and the impact it could have on member security. While ACU has been successful in delaying the implementation of the order until April of 2026, they have yet to secure a change in the order’s wording or an exemption.

Last week, America’s Credit Union’s Head of Regulatory Advocacy, James Akin, met with FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty’s office to further discuss the order and assist in ACU’s ultimate goal “to obtain a rescission of the ‘revoke all’ rule and prohibit the use of non-standard terms to revoke consent through text messages.”

Though the agency did not note how successful last week’s meeting was, they stressed their commitment to engaging the FCC in the matter and their continued efforts until the rule goes into effect next spring.