On November 25, "STOP" Starts Meaning Something Narrower

For years the deal was simple. Reply STOP to a text and the sender had to stop. A new FCC order, published in the Federal Register on October 26 and effective November 25, changes the edges of that deal in ways worth knowing from both sides of the message.

If you send texts to customers, three things change for you. If you only receive them, one thing changes, and it is not the one the headlines picked.

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“The Buck Stops Here”
Kelly Maguire
Behind the Markets

Look Behind the Curtain

Start with the change everyone is getting slightly wrong.

The order says callers may interpret a revocation made in response to an informational message, meaning one with no advertising or telemarketing in it, as applying only to that specific category rather than to everything. Note the word may. It is permission, not a requirement, and it covers informational messages only. Reply STOP to anything containing an advertisement and consent to all future advertising and telemarketing from that sender is revoked, exactly as before.

Second, the sender gets to choose the door. A caller may designate one or more specific methods as the exclusive way to revoke: an automated key-press option on a call, a reply to a text using a standard word, or a designated website or phone number. If they designate one, they do not have to process requests made any other way. If they designate none, they must honor any reasonable means. Whichever they pick has to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously on the call or in the text.

Third, the word list is now standardized: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, unsubscribe. A text sender can satisfy the disclosure obligation by naming just one of them, but must honor a request made with any of the seven. Disclose one, honor all.

Two timing rules round it out. A revocation must be honored within a reasonable time not exceeding ten business days. And a confirmation text is allowed if it only confirms the opt-out and carries no marketing; sent within five minutes it is presumed covered by prior consent, and sent later the sender must show the delay was reasonable.

A companion proposal is open asking whether to require a one-step revoke-all and shorten the window. Comments are due November 25 and replies December 28.

The Capability Multiplier

For a business that texts customers, this is a short, cheap compliance job, and it is the kind that quietly becomes expensive when ignored.

Decide whether to designate an exclusive revocation method. It is genuinely useful if your opt-outs arrive in five different inboxes, because it funnels them to one place you monitor. Then put the disclosure in the template and leave it there.

Make sure your system recognizes all seven words, not just the one you print. This is the likeliest gap, because most platforms were built to catch STOP and perhaps UNSUBSCRIBE. Test it from a personal phone with each word in turn. It takes ten minutes and is the only test that proves anything.

Check your confirmation message. If it thanks the customer for their business and mentions an offer, it is marketing, and the safe harbor does not apply. Strip it to a plain confirmation and make sure it fires immediately.

An assistant is well suited to the paperwork: rewriting templates to carry the disclosure, drafting the note that tells staff which words count, building the test script. It should not be your source for the rule itself.

For everyone else, the takeaway is narrower than the headlines suggested. Your opt-out from marketing still stops marketing. What may now be treated as category-limited is the one you sent in reply to an informational message, the appointment reminder or the delivery update.

The Sovereign Action

Ten minutes if you receive texts, an hour if you send them.

• If you send texts: decide whether to designate an exclusive opt-out method, then disclose it clearly in every message.
• Test that your platform honors all seven words: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, unsubscribe. Printing one is enough; honoring one is not.
• Confirm opt-outs are processed within ten business days, and that any confirmation text contains no marketing and goes out fast.
• If you receive texts: keep replying STOP. Marketing opt-outs are unchanged. Opting out of a reminder may now only cover that kind of message.
• Report texts you never consented to at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The new rules bind legitimate senders, not the people ignoring the law entirely.

We encourage all readers to consult a qualified financial professional — such as a registered investment adviser or licensed broker — before making any investment decision.