As we recently previewed, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published its Proposed Rule that would codify its updated guidance on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA regulates calls and text messages sent using automated technology and is frequently litigated. Below are the major proposed rule changes on which the FCC seeks comment.Continue Reading FCC Releases Proposed Rule for Codifying Updates to the TCPA

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intending to strengthen consumers’ ability to revoke consent to receive both robocalls and robotexts, in addition to strengthening callers’/texters’ obligations to honor such requests in a timely manner.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts callers from making robocalls and robotexts unless they have received the prior express consent of the called party, subject to a couple of exemptions. The FCC’s proposed action would broaden a consumer’s ability to revoke consent in “any reasonable way.” For example, simply using words such as “stop,” “revoke,” “end,” or “opt out” in response to a call or text would create a presumption, absent contrary evidence, that the consumer has revoked consent.Continue Reading FCC Proposes Codifying New TCPA Consent Rules in Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to “ban the practice of obtaining a single consumer consent as grounds for delivering calls and text messages from multiple marketers on subjects beyond the scope of the original consent.”

According to the FCC, the proposed rule’s intent is to prevent lead generators from obtaining consent to receive calls and texts from multiple “partner companies” identified through a hyperlink rather than on the same page where consent is obtained. Implementing this rule could drastically change the way lead generators obtain consent for marketing calls and texts under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).Continue Reading FCC Proposes Rule to “Close the Lead Generator Loophole,” with Business-Changing Ramifications

Last week, a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina dismissed a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuit brought by a plaintiff who claimed calls made by an insurance lead generator to her cell phone number, which was registered on the national Do Not Call (DNC) registry, were unlawful. The decision takes a view contrary to that of at least one other district court in the Fourth Circuit, but sides with a district court in Texas in finding that the do not call prohibitions of the TCPA do not encompass cell phones.

Does this latest decision, Gaker v. Q3M Insurance Solutions et al., mean that telemarketing calls to cellphone numbers listed on the national DNC list are actually OK? Probably not. For starters, since 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allowed cell phone numbers to be registered on the DNC list and interpreted the TCPA’s do-not-call prohibitions to encompass cell phone numbers. Other courts have followed the FCC’s lead in this matter. However, the judge’s reasoning in the Gaker case is interesting to consider, particularly for anyone following a textualist reading of Congress’s laws.Continue Reading North Carolina Judge Says Cell Phones Not Subject to Federal Do-Not-Call Protections

For years, lead generators have obtained telephone numbers for their clients to call by obtaining the consumer’s consent to receive calls from certain entities specifically identified by the lead generator. A typical model uses language that asks for the consumer’s consent, via a checkbox or otherwise, to receive marketing calls from a few of the lead generator’s marketing partners named in the consent request.

A popular variation of this model is to include, instead of a list of partners by name, a clickable reference to “marketing partners” in the consent language. The specific marketing partners are visible only when the consumer clicks the link and views whatever list of marketing partner names the lead generator has provided.

Sometimes, the marketing partners list has several dozens, hundreds, or thousands of names.  With such long lists, one might ask: How many names on the marketing partners list is too many to evidence meaningful consent by the consumer to receive calls or texts? As recently declared by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the answer is 5,329.  As a practical matter, the number might be a whole lot less.Continue Reading Telemarketing Lead Generators: How Many “Marketing Partners” Is Too Many?

On March 10, Atrium Hospitality LP entered into a consent decree with the Federal Communications Commission. The agreement included a burdensome compliance plan and a $35,000 penalty for the hotel and asset management company. Atrium is just the most recent organization whose primary area of work extends beyond telecommunications to be investigated and ultimately penalized by the FCC.

In many industries, cell phones still have not replaced hand-held radios, which are often used for internal communications by security services, cleaning staff, and maintenance teams. These radios are used at manufacturing and industrial facilities, hotels, golf courses, athletic stadiums, and many other facilities that rely on private radios for staff communication.Continue Reading Use of Private Radios by Industry Increases Risk of FCC Non-Compliance

Most marketers are aware that the FCC has something to do with the regulation of computers and computing peripherals, products that are widely sold online.  Unfortunately, marketers sometimes do not realize that the FCC’s rules also apply to a host of household devices such as coffeemakers, electric razors, car battery chargers, jewelry polishing devices, and similar electronic products that are also widely sold online.  Even more problematic is that the FCC tends to take failure to comply with its rules governing these devices very seriously and can and does assess stiff fines for even innocent violations.
Continue Reading Keep the FCC on Your Radar

The days of on-air fast-talking contest announcements are coming to an end.  Last Thursday, the FCC adopted revised rules that allow broadcasters to disclose contest rules on an Internet website, as opposed to reading them over the air.  Prior to this rule change, under the FCC’s “Contest Rule” (47 C.F.R. Section 73.1216), broadcasters that advertised a contest on-air were required to fully disclose the “material terms” of the contest and then conduct the contest substantially as announced or advertised – a requirement that was adopted almost four decades ago, and which the FCC now acknowledges is inconsistent with the way Americans obtain information today.

Those that want to take advantage of the new Internet website option must comply with the requirements that the FCC lays out in the Report and Order, including: 
Continue Reading Hear! Hear! FCC Modernizes Contest Rules for Broadcasters

It seems as if every few weeks, a new court decision weighs in on how to interpret the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), especially the meaning of “automatic telephone dialing system” (“autodialer”) and “called party.”  Trade associations and telemarketers have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) for clarification, hoping to reduce the compliance burden and prevent lawsuits from aggressive plaintiff’s attorneys (See TCPA Update for recent filings).  Now, fourteen United States Senators have provided their two cents, not on the specific meaning of any definitions, but rather the general direction the FCC should take when clarifying the rules. The Senators’ clear message:  Don’t weaken the TCPA’s protections for consumers.

On January 28th, fourteen Senators signed a letter to Chairman Wheeler at the FCC expressing “deep concerns” that the proposed changes being considered by the FCC would “undermine the intent and spirit of the TCPA.”  The letter discussed the purpose of the TCPA, indicating that it was passed by Congress to protect consumers from intrusions into the home by telemarketers.  Emphasizing the importance of broader protection for consumers, the letter explained that “by banning autodialing and pre-recorded calls to land lines and mobile phones, with certain exceptions, and establishing the National Do Not Call Registry, the law created a zone of privacy that remains hugely popular with consumers to this day.”  In closing, the letter reiterated: 
Continue Reading Some Senators Make an Unsolicited Call to the FCC

Telemarketers are all too aware that automatic telephone dialing systems (“autodialers”) are a hot topic in the litigation world. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), 47 U.S.C. § 227, and the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) implementing rules, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, prohibit making any autodialed call or text message to cell phones without the called party’s prior express consent (with express written consent required for marketing calls). However, as we have noted previously, no one seems to know the full extent of devices that are properly classified as autodialers under the TCPA. As a result, parties have been fighting over the proper meaning of autodialer in the courts, and numerous petitions have been submitted to the FCC requesting clarification. As our TCPA Alert highlights, the lawsuits continue to pour in, while the FCC prepares clarifications and guidance that could remove some of the uncertainty.
Continue Reading TCPA Autodialers 101: What Makes an Autodialer and What’s Next from the FCC