Posts tagged as “FCC”

In the action seeking review of the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 TCPA Order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled today that: The FCC’s ruling as to the types of calling equipment that fall within the TCPA’s restrictions would “subject ordinary calls from any conventional smartphone to the Act’s coverage, an unreasonably expansive interpretation of the statute.”  This portion of the FCC’s 2015 TCPA Order was set aside and vacated. The FCC’s “approach to calls made to a phone number previously assigned to a person who had given consent but since reassigned to another (nonconsenting) person” —…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the Federal Communications Commission’s 2006 Solicited Fax Rule exceeded its authority under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to the extent that it requires opt-out notices on fax advertisements sent with the permission of the recipient (“solicited” faxes) as well as on unsolicited fax advertisements. A copy of the opinion in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley, et al v. FCC, et al is available at:  Link to Opinion. A company that sells generic drugs faxed advertisements to small pharmacies containing weekly pricing information and “specials.” Many…

The U.S. District Court of the Western District of North Carolina recently stayed proceedings in a suit pending the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s ruling on challenges to the Federal Communication Commission’s Declaratory Ruling and Order, 30 FCC Rcd. 7961 (2015) (the “FCC Order”) under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). A copy of the opinion in Abplanalp v. United Collection Bureau, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff’s credit card agreement contained an arbitration provision requiring that all claims against the lender, including claims against third parties to whom the plaintiff’s debt was…

Unsolicited e-faxes — documents converted to an email or attachment between the faxer and a recipient — are subject to the same consumer protections as unsolicited conventional faxes, according to a recent Federal Communications Commission declaratory ruling. The ruling built upon certain provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Junk Fax Protection Act, establishing that unsolicited communications that begin as faxes, including those converted to an electronic format after they are sent, justify consumer protection because e-faxes can cause some of the same issues and costs for businesses as conventional faxes. E-faxes “can increase labor costs for businesses,…

The FCC voted a 3-2 majority ‘yes’ today on a TCPA declaratory ruling to expand the law in an attempt to prevent unwanted robocalls and “robotexts,” as well as spam and telemarketing calls to wireless phones. The package of rulings also included the approval of robocalling technologies, oral revocation of consent, redefinition of autodialers, as well as other stipulations and exemptions. The rulings addressed 19 petitions for declaratory rulings, one petition for rulemaking and one request for clarification. The rulings, as of this writing, have not been released. The commissioners’ discussions indicate they will address “autodialers,” and some emerging technologies. Exceptions…

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced Wednesday that the FCC will move to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls and texts like never before by proposing new standards for TCPA regulation that will be voted on next month. Establishing new rules, closing loopholes, and simplifying the opt-out process for consumers are the three main goals of the proposal, which Wheeler calls “yet another win for consumers.” The FCC considers this proposal to be one of the most significant consumer protection actions since it helped to establish the Do-Not-Call Registry in 2003. The crackdown on robocalls, texts, and telemarketer calls; the number one source of…