What are the FCC's Telemarketing Laws?

FCC telemarketing laws include those rules enforced by the Federal Communication Commission.  For example, the TCPA or Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a federal law affecting telemarketing, debt collection and other call center activities.  The FCC has passed additional call center regulations clarifying and expanding the TCPA - click to read about new FCC rules in the TCPA portion of the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFRs").  FCC telemarketing laws include rules regarding the national do not call law, autodialer law, robocall law, fax and SMS text marketing laws.

Some of the most fundamental FCC rules include:

• Don't autodail (or text) any cell phone without the required level of consent ("written" for marketing and "express" for non-marketing and non-profit). Learn more about charitable and non-profit telemarketing laws;
  
• Don't telemarket to numbers on the national Do Not Call list without consent or a well-documented existing business relationship. Learn more about DNC regulations and Do-Not-Call list laws;
  
• A text is treated essentially the same as a call per the FCC;
  
• Don't continue to call or text someone who tells you to stop - instead, add them to you internal opt-out database and cease calling until they opt back in;
  
• Don't send fax advertisements without appropriate consent or business relationship and remember that regardless, your fax needs to contain very specific opt-out disclosures on the first page;
  
• Unless you have an exemption, be sure to scrub against (suppress) numbers on the national DNC list at least once every 31 days;
  
• If you are using an autodialer or prerecorded messages, scrub against a national list of cell phone numbers and ported wireless numbers at least once every 15 days;
  
• Documenting/logging your DNC and cell scrubbing habits will help you have a limited "safe harbor" defense in the event of an isolated error or TCPA demand.
  

Recently, the FCC's telemarketing laws were amended to include new FCC rules.    Many of the new rules focus on the written consent requirement for autodialing and autotexting cell phones.  Written consent can be obtained in a variety of forms - online, on paper, on a recorded phone call, in an email, etc.  "Express consent" for non-marketing automated calls can be verbal and unrecorded, although as a best practice you should record such consent either way.  Thankfully, "express consent" for automated non-marketing calls can sometimes be implied if the call recipient provided the telephone number to the company in the normal course of business and has not opted out.

FCC telemarketing laws in the TCPA allow the government to impose telemarketing fines on violators.  Private citizens who receive illegal calls can also sue the company directly under the TCPA's "private right of action" for up to $1,500 per call.  You can minimize your telemarketing exposure by  retaining an experienced TCPA attorney who can advise you regarding telemarketing compliance.  A seasoned TCPA defense lawyer can defend your company from frivolous class action lawsuits and telemarketing fines, or help you perform a telemarketing audit of your calling practices.

Follow recent FCC cases at our TCPA legal blog.  Remember that aside from federal FCC rules, there are also FTC rules and a variety of state telemarketing compliance and state telemarketing licenses.  For responding to a state Attorney General claim, click here.

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*Some content on this page was made before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ March 2018 Decision, which can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/2HHTfND