As of April 2025, the FCC will implement a new rule under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that will significantly impact how businesses handle SMS communications with consumers. This change reinforces consumers’ rights to revoke consent and requires businesses to honor such requests swiftly and across all communication channels.
What’s Changing?
Under the updated rule, consumers can now revoke their consent to receive marketing messages by responding with commonly used keywords such as “STOP,” “QUIT,” “END,” “REVOKE,” “OPT OUT,” “CANCEL,” or “UNSUBSCRIBE.” Businesses must process these revocations within 10 business days.
The rule also broadens the interpretation of revocation: if a consumer withdraws consent from one type of message (e.g., a promotional SMS), that opt-out applies across all messaging types and departments within the organization. This ensures that consumers don’t continue receiving messages from another branch of the same company after opting out.
What Does This Mean for You?
If your business sends SMS communications, it’s essential to:
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Audit your current opt-in/opt-out workflows.
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Ensure that consent revocation requests are honored system-wide.
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Train customer support and marketing teams on the new expectations.
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Update your SMS privacy policies and disclosures.
Next Steps
Now is the time to review your SMS practices and prepare for the FCC’s new compliance requirements. At [Your Company], we’re helping clients align their messaging platforms with these new rules to avoid penalties and maintain consumer trust.
Want help reviewing your current SMS compliance plan? Contact us today.