As we find ourselves in limbo between the anticlimactic Barr Supreme Court case and the potentially momentous Facebook case, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation continue apace. Two recent court decisions illustrate just how expensive TCPA class actions can be for defendants and how lucrative they can be for plaintiffs attorneys. Last week, the Eleventh… Continue reading Recent Court Decisions Highlight How Costly the TCPA Can Be
Tag: FCC
TCPA Risks for Political Campaigns
Some callers may be under the mistaken impression that political calls are exempt from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This is not true. However, because political calls are not regulated in the same way as marketing calls it is important to understand the distinct character of TCPA regulations for political campaigns. This article outlines the regulations and requirements that govern this unique form of telephone solicitation.
FCC Enforcement of Spoofed Robocalls Leads to Proposed $225 Million Fine
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made enforcement of robocall violations, particularly those involving spoofed numbers, a top priority, particularly since the passage of the TRACED Act at the end of last year. The latest element of this ongoing project is the largest proposed fine in the FCC’s history, $225 million, against a Texas-based health… Continue reading FCC Enforcement of Spoofed Robocalls Leads to Proposed $225 Million Fine
FCC and FTC Warn Three Gateway Providers About COVID-Related Scam Robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued letters to three gateway providers demanding that they shut off traffic to overseas robocallers whom the Commissions have identified as engaging in scam calls related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the press release accompanying the letters, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is quoted as saying,… Continue reading FCC and FTC Warn Three Gateway Providers About COVID-Related Scam Robocalls
How to Effectively Make Use of Telemarketing Safe Harbor Provisions
In the context of telemarketing, Safe Harbor is often a subject of confusion. This is unfortunate as understanding Safe Harbor and the multilayered rules and statutes that govern it is essential to successful compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and both state and federal Do Not Call (DNC) Lists.
Collections Compliance: the Laws that Govern the Collections Industry
Both telemarketing and debt collection are, quite literally, risky businesses. Both fields are highly regulated, governed by complex legislation, and subject to potentially expensive penalties and litigation. Compliance in either field is complicated enough on its own but compliance for debt collectors who use telephone solicitation in order to conduct their business imposes difficulties to an extent beyond the mere sum of the complexities of either field on its own.
CFPB Asks FCC to Allow Robocalls from Banks About Financial Relief Programs Related to the Coronavirus Crisis
In an unusual move relative to its customary stance on such issues, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has requested that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ease restrictions on the use of automated phone calls by banks and financial institutions in order to communicate with consumers about the various financial relief programs and services available … Continue reading CFPB Asks FCC to Allow Robocalls from Banks About Financial Relief Programs Related to the Coronavirus Crisis
Second Circuit Follows Broad ATDS Definition from Marks
In the ongoing saga of what sorts of dialing technology is considered an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS)—and thus subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) regulations on autodialers—the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has bucked recent trends and adopted the precedent of the Ninth Circuit’s extremely broad ATDS definition from 2018’s Marks v.… Continue reading Second Circuit Follows Broad ATDS Definition from Marks
Court Rules In Favor of TCPA Defendant Claiming Previous Subscriber’s Consent
A district court ruled that a caller could reasonably rely on the consent of a previous subscriber when calling a number that had since been recycled to another user.
TRACED Act Signed Into Law
President Donald Trump signed the TRACED Act into law on December 30, 2019. The bill had passed both houses of Congress with near-unanimous, bipartisan support. The act—whose name is an acronym for Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence—is a major piece of new legislation overhauling the regulation of robocalls. We have covered the law in… Continue reading TRACED Act Signed Into Law