The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) generally prohibits the use of automated dialing equipment or prerecorded voice messages to make calls, send text messages, or send faxes absent prior consent of the called party. This includes calls or texts to cellular phone numbers as well as calls to residential lines. There are limited exceptions to
Two More Significant Rulings for TCPA Litigation – Eleventh and Seventh Circuits Narrowly Interpret ATDS
In back-to-back decisions bound to have significant impact on Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action litigation, the Eleventh and Seventh Circuit Courts recently reached similar conclusions, narrowly holding that the TCPA’s definition of Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) only includes equipment that is capable of storing or producing numbers using a “random or sequential”
Combating Improper Robocalls: The TRACED Act Signed into Law
In the final days of 2019, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (“TRACED Act”) was signed into law to combat the increasing number of illegal robocall practices and other intentional violations of telemarketing laws. The TRACED Act, a bipartisan bill, first introduced in Congress in 2018, broadens FCC authority to levy Telephone
FCC Rules Online Faxes Are TCPA Exempt
The Telephone Consumer Protect Act (“TCPA”) has seen lots of action in 2019, and in the final days of the year the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a significant ruling concluding that “online fax services” i.e. e-faxes are outside the scope of the TCPA. The FCC’s ruling effectively prevents the common “junk fax” class action
U.S. Supreme Court Leaves Open the Issue of FCC Interpretation of TCPA, For Now
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in PDR Network LLC v. Carlton, addressing the issue of whether the Hobbs Act requires the district court to accept the 2006 Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Order 2006 (“the Order”), which provides the legal interpretation for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Unfortunately, the Court
The Circuit Split Over the Definition of ATDS Under the TCPA Continues
When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991, most American consumers were using landline phones, and Congress could not begin to contemplate the evolution of the mobile phone. The TCPA defines Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (ATDS) as “equipment which has the capacity—(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using
The U.S. Supreme Court Will Rule on FCC Interpretation of the TCPA
Late last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic (No. 17-1705), addressing the issue of whether the Hobbs Act requires the district court to accept the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In 1991, Congress passed the TCPA
D.C. Circuit Court Finally Rules on FCC’s 2015 TCPA Order
After two and a half years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a highly anticipated ruling reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) July 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (“2015 Order”) in which the FCC issued interpretative guidance on several aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (”TCPA”). Over
Will More States Follow New York’s Lead?
As you know if you regularly read this blog, the New York State DFS finally finalized its “first-in-the-nation” cybersecurity rules with an effective date of March 1, 2017. And their reach is quite large: DFS-supervised entities from insurers and banks to mortgage brokers and credit unions (and their third-party service providers) will have to begin
FCC Adopts New Privacy Rules
Late last month, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new privacy rules for broadband Internet service providers (ISPs). We first discussed this topic in March when the proposal was introduced by the FCC Chairman. The rules are intended to protect the privacy of consumers and to provide customers with meaningful choice, greater transparency, and strong security