Telemarketing compliance is made difficult by the byzantine nature of telemarketing regulations. Any marketer can be forgiven for struggling to keep track of the varying levels of laws, regulatory agencies, and other enforcement mechanisms. However, there are two acronyms that loom large enough in the regulatory landscape that everybody knows them, even if they don’t really understand what they mean: TCPA and DNC.
Tag: Dialing Technology
District Court Rejects Argument That Ringless Voicemail Not Covered by TCPA
A district court in Florida delivered the latest in a series of rulings that undermine the argument that ringless voicemail is not covered by Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations. The court in the case—Gurzi v. Penn Credit, Case No: 6:19-cv-823-Orl-31EJK, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56582 (M.D. Fl. March 30, 2020)—rejected the defendant’s motion for… Continue reading District Court Rejects Argument That Ringless Voicemail Not Covered by TCPA
Two Courts Reject Excel Sheet ATDS Argument
On consecutive days last week, two different district courts in two different circuits handed down rulings in two different Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases that rejected a common argument that would have essentially rendered any computer-based dialer as an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS). One case—Decapua v. Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., C.A.… Continue reading Two Courts Reject Excel Sheet ATDS Argument
District Court in Free Cruise Case Rules that Avatar Technology is Subject to TCPA Regulations
A recent ruling by the Northern District of Illinois Court in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action adds to a growing body of case law that holds that avatar technology should be considered a “precorded voice” for the purposes of telemarketing regulations. Also known as “soundboard technology,” avatar technology was described by the… Continue reading District Court in Free Cruise Case Rules that Avatar Technology is Subject to TCPA Regulations
Appeals Court Rules That TCPA Regulations Apply To Hybrid VoIP-Cellular Telephone Numbers
The First Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a ruling that has enormous consequences for TCPA compliance with regards to hybrid VoIP-Cellular services.
FCC Solicits Comments on NorthStar Soundboard Technology Petition
In January of this year, NorthStar Alarm Services, LLC filed a petition with the FCC asking the agency to rule that soundboard technology, also known as avatar, does not fall under the definition of a prerecorded message under the TCPA. Soundboard technology functions by allowing a live caller to converse with a call recipient by… Continue reading FCC Solicits Comments on NorthStar Soundboard Technology Petition
TSI Claims Court Victory in ATDS Debate
Transworld Systems Inc. (TSI) scored another victory in its defense against a TCPA lawsuit that sought to categorize their LiveVox Human Call Initiator devise as an Automated Dialing System (ATDS). The plaintiff claimed that TSI violated the TCPA when they made multiple debt collections calls to his cellphone without his prior expressed consent. The lawsuit… Continue reading TSI Claims Court Victory in ATDS Debate
Alarming Change to TSR Impacts Soundboard Technology
The Soundboard Association (SBA) lost its battle to prevent implementation of the November 10, 2016 FTC Staff Opinion Letter to the telemarketing industry on avatar or “soundboard” technology.
FTC Releases Letter on Avatar Technology
Today the FTC released a staff opinion letter stating that, effective May 12, 2017 (six months from now), it will no longer distinguish soundboard calls from more traditional prerecorded robocalls. This is unfortunate, because most outbound robocalls require prior written consent under the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Avatar calls involve a live agent playing prerecorded snippets… Continue reading FTC Releases Letter on Avatar Technology
Limited VoIP Plan = Cellphone For TCPA Purposes, New York Court Rules
Calls with a prerecorded message or made using an automated telephone dialing system to a Voice-over-Internet number with limited minutes should be treated the same as calls to a cellphone under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a New York federal court has ruled. Reny Rivero sued America’s Recovery Solutions alleging violations of the TCPA based… Continue reading Limited VoIP Plan = Cellphone For TCPA Purposes, New York Court Rules