In 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) addressed of “the problem of unwanted calls to consumers with numbers reassigned from a previous consumer by establishing a single, comprehensive Reassigned Number Database” (RND). Callers reaching out to consumers can “check the database to ensure they reach consumers that expect their calls and avoid calling consumers with
Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced on April 7, 2022, that “five more state Attorneys General are partnering with the FCC in robocall investigations.” As a result, a majority of states (some 27 plus the District of Columbia) have now signed Memoranda of Understanding (“MOU”) with the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.
The most recent
Noting that some 35 million telephone numbers are disconnected and made available for reassignment to consumers annually, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) took a further step last Thursday to address the “problem of unwanted calls to reassigned numbers.” The problem with these calls already is well known to businesses that rely on phone calls or text messages to communicate with their customers: a caller places a call or sends a text to a number for which it has previously obtained the necessary consent, only to find out later that the number has since been reassigned to someone else (who has not provided consent). The FCC declared in the Declaratory Ruling and Order of July 2015 (“2015 Declaratory Ruling”) that these calls may violate the TCPA, although it also created a limited safe harbor for a single call or message made post-reassignment
Continue Reading Reassigned Numbers: Sailing Towards A New TCPA “Safe Harbor?”
On March 16, 2018, a unanimous panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated two rulings from the FCC’s 2015 declaratory ruling and order concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The DC Circuit’s decision is a victory for companies that have been seeking clarity from the FCC as
Eduardo Guzmán has written an article for Law360 regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) with relation to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services.
Much like the explosion in the use of mobile devices dramatically changed how the TCPA has been enforced and applied, emerging technologies like VoIP threaten to alter the TCPA landscape in ways that would have been unpredictable when the statute was enacted in 1991. The TCPA does not mention VoIP or VoIP calls, but the proliferation of VoIP services and their ability to mirror traditional telephony has made them a favorite target of the TCPA plaintiffs’ bar.
Continue Reading TCPA Rules for VoIP Demands Fresh Approach to FCC Regulatory Principles
The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is asking for comments on a petition filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) requesting clarification or a declaratory ruling under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) as to communications from mortgage servicers to borrowers affected by natural disasters. The FHFA’s petition, which was filed on November 15, 2017 and requests an “expedited response,” makes two specific requests.
Continue Reading FCC Bureau Asks for Comments on the Treatment of Calls to Mortgage Borrowers Affected by Hurricanes
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted last week new rules that signal a new approach to tackling calls that violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In its first rulemaking dealing with the TCPA under Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC is removing barriers that prevent telecommunications providers from blocking calls that presumably violate the TCPA because they misleadingly appear to originate from telephone numbers that should not be originating calls at all.
Continue Reading FCC Opens the Door to Blocking Spoofed Robocalls that Violate the TCPA