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Federal Communications Commission: Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages, Implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991; Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls

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Highlights

GAO reviewed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) new rule entitled "Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages, Implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991; Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls." GAO found that the final rule (1) requires terminating mobile wireless providers to block text messages from a particular number following notification from FCC; (2) codifies that the National Do-Not-Call (DNC) Registry's protections extend to text messages; (3) encourages mobile wireless providers to make email-to-text, which FCC states is a major source of illegal texts, a service that consumers proactively opt into; (4) closes the lead generator loophole by requiring comparison shopping websites to get consumer consent one seller at a time, if prior express written consent is required under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227, and thus prohibits abuse of consumer consent by such websites; and (5) adopts a limited waiver to allow providers to use the Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) to determine whether a number that FCC has ordered to be blocked has been permanently disconnected.

Enclosed is our assessment of FCC's compliance with the procedural steps required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. If you have any questions about this report or wish to contact GAO officials responsible for the evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule, please contact Shari Brewster, Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-6398.

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