FCC Requests Comments on TCPA in Wake of Marks Ruling

The FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau is "[Seeking] further comment on how to interpret and apply the statutory definition of automatic telephone dialing system, including the phrase ‘using a random or sequential number generator,’ in light of the recent decision in Marks, as well as how that decision might bear on the analysis set forth in ACA International.” In Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC, the court held that the term ATDS includes any device with the capacity to store numbers in a list and dial them automatically. This is just one of many different rulings that have come out in the aftermath of the recent ACA v. FCC Court of Appeal’s decision that vacated the FCC’s previous interpretation of autodialers. Judges have been ruling on both sides of the aisle in the debate over what exactly constitutes an ATDS. Read the FCC’s press release and learn how to submit comments. Learn more about the definition of autodialer, telemarketing rules, telemarketing licenses, and telemarketing law firms. If you have any telemarketing compliance need, don't hesitate to call a telemarketing attorney or TCPA lawyer.

Representatives Show Support for Common Sense TCPA Reform

Last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai showing his support for TCPA reform. Chairman Goodlatte wrote:
"I applaud the FCC's recent efforts to update its approach to the Telephone [Consumer] Protection Act ("TCPA"), as well as its efforts in cracking down on abusive and illegal robocalls. Furthermore, the D.C. Circuit's recent ruling in ACA International v. FCC...provides the Commission an opportunity to correct and clarify several areas of the TCPA and the 2015 TCPA Omnibus Declaratory Ruling, which, according to the Institute for Legal Reform, resulted in a 46% increase in TCPA case filings. Using this decision as a road map to bring common sense back to the TCPA, I recommend that the FCC clarify the term "automatic telephone dialing system" ("ATDS"), according to the plain language of the law and consistent with Congressional intent, to mean equipment must use a random or sequential number generator to store or produce numbers and dial those numbers without human intervention. Moreover, the FCC should find that only calls made using actual (not theoretical) ATDS capabilities are subject to the TCPA's restrictions."
Read Representative Goodlatte's full letter here.
Learn more about autodialer laws, robocall laws, telemarketing registrations, and telemarketing regulations.
Representative Michael C. Burgess, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, also recently wrote a letter to Chairman Pai in support of TCPA reform:
"It is imperative the FCC develop an updated TCPA framework that both protects consumers while maintaining the ability of good faith callers to contact consumers. This should be consistent with the Congressional direction in the 1991 TCPA and reflect emerging technologies that are helping consumers manage calls. The TCPA was not intended to be a barrier to normal communications between businesses and their customers. Under this approach, the FCC should find that only calls made using actual, not theoretical, ATDS capabilities are subject to the TCPA's restrictions."
Read Representative Burgess' full letter here.