Lending Tree Seeks Changes to Robotext Consent Rules

Lending Tree asked the FCC to change some of the one-to-one robotext consent rules commissioners approved last December (see 2312130019) before they take effect Jan. 26. Company representatives met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and staff from the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-402. “LendingTree urged the Commission to adopt a narrow exception to the 1-to-1 Consent Rule for curated comparison-shopping platforms in order to preserve the ‘value that comparison shopping offers to consumers who seek specific goods and services, and the value that lead generators offers to businesses, including small businesses, seeking new customers,’” the filing said. Lending Tree said a recent survey it conducted “showed that 73% of consumers who have applied for a loan or insurance policy expect to learn about service providers that they have never heard of when comparison shopping.”