By: Kristen Marshall
In an effort to “harmonize” the TCPA and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), the FCC’s revised regulations allow calls only with the prior express written consent of the consumer. These changes by the FCC are significant because certain entities, while they may not be subject to the TSR, are subject now to the same standard for prerecorded calls under FCC rules.
By: William Raney
Although federal wiretapping law permits one party to record, monitor or otherwise intercept its own conversations, state law can vary. If you engage in web chat customer support, you should review compliance with state and federal wiretapping laws and potentially disclose potential monitoring of those communications to your customers.
By: William Raney
If you are considering the use of an automated reminder messaging (“ARM”) in your agency, this paper can help by providing legal background regarding ARM which you can use with your counsel to conduct a legally compliant campaign.
By: William Raney
A business that seeks to be completely compliant should look to national rules, such as the Telemarketing Sales Rule, but also “national” state laws - laws, though passed in a single state, are of such importance that calls to the entire nation are affected.
By: William Raney
What, exactly, constitutes a company-specific “do-not-call” request? While the FTC and FCC previously stated that any form of a request is valid, neither agency has issued much guidance to answer the question. The guidance has come in the form of a lawsuit, filed against the Americall Group, for “interfer[ing] with entity-specific do-not-call requests.”
By: William Raney
The SEC has adopted new rules with regard to telemarketing activity.
By: Kristen Marshall
As the number of TCPA-related lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs increases, debate has turned to which courts, state or federal, have jurisdiction to hear these lawsuits. Until the Supreme Court issues its decision regarding federal question jurisdiction pursuant to the TCPA, the debate will continue and many seeking their claims to be heard in federal court will be forced to rely on diversity jurisdiction.
By: Kristen Marshall
The FCC has issued a request for comments about the circumstances in which a person or entity is liable for telemarketing violations committed by third parties acting on the person’s or entity’s behalf. This article examines the issues involved in a third party calling “on behalf of” a person or entity.
By: William Raney
Regarding mobile phones, the FCC will likely apply the current logic used for landlines. That is to say, if a consumer at her sole discretion moved but kept the same mobile number and old area code, and did not notify the caller of the new address, the caller could rely on the old area code to determine applicable curfews (assuming compliance with other rules including but not limited to the TCPA ATDS rules.)
By: Errol Copilevitz
According to the Internal Revenue Code and Regulations, charities must be “publicly supported.” This article reviews the criteria for that requirement.