The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Thursday approved a declaratory ruling on default call-blocking. CUNA’s action alert helped secure a “safety valve” in the order, and CUNA’s CompBlog examines what the ruling means going forward.

Under the ruling, voice service providers are allowed to block calls by default based on call analytics that target unwanted calls, as long as their customers are informed and have the opportunity to opt-out of the blocking.

It clarifies that Telecom providers may also offer their customers the choice to opt-in to tools that block calls from any number that does not appear on a customer’s contact list or other “white lists.” This option would allow consumers to decide directly whose calls they’re willing to receive, based on the contact list in a person’s smart phone.

The FCC is urging voice providers to implement the Secure Telephony Identity Revisited and Secure Handling of Asserted information using Tokens (STIR/SHAKEN) caller ID authentication framework by the end of 2019. STIR/SHAKEN is a protocol for authenticating phone calls with the aid of cryptographic certificates.

Failure to do so could result in further rulemaking to require implementation of the technology.

Additional details on the FCC’s ruling, as well as links to the materials, can be found on CUNA’s CompBlog.

In addition to the CompBlog, CUNA’s Compliance Community contains discussion boards and a number of other resources for credit union compliance professionals around the country.