-Move Comes After OLA Successfully Pushed FCC to Extend Original Compliance Deadline by Six Months-
ARLINGTON, Va. (January 24, 2025)—Earlier today, in response to a legal action, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a one year delay in implementation of its rule requiring prior express written consent that “clearly and conspicuously” authorizes calls or text messages from only one identified entity per transaction. The rule had previously been set to take effect on January 27, 2025. Following the announcement, Online Lenders Alliance Chief Executive Officer Andrew Duke issued the following statement:
“While OLA agrees with the Commission that there should be no place for bad actors that mislead consumers or unscrupulously share consumer data with parties inconsistent with the consumers’ original request for services, the final one-to-one consent requirements would have significant unintended consequences for both consumers and the online lending industry.
“To comply with the rule, businesses would likely have to increase the number of manual calls and texts to confirm consumer consent before proceeding with marketing. This would lead to an overall increase in consumer communications, undermining the rule’s intent and potentially causing further annoyance and inconvenience. The rule’s restriction of a consumer’s ability to interact with reputable lead generators and their marketplaces of vetted lenders would have significantly reduced access to credit for those most in need of assistance. In many cases, it would drive up the cost of that same credit as lenders who previously relied on lead generators incur increased costs for customer acquisition.
“OLA looks forward to working with the Commission to develop a policy that protects consumers without reducing access to credit.”
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