In the face of ongoing uncertainty regarding permissible uses of modern telephone equipment under the TCPA, lawsuits and important precedents continue to pile up.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq., and the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implementing it, regulate telephone solicitations to residential landlines and all calls to cellular phones, as well as the sending of fax transmissions. In particular, the TCPA and FCC rules prohibit using an automated telephone dialing system (also referred to as an autodialer or ATDS) or a pre-recorded message to make telephone solicitations to residential landlines or any calls to cellular phones, unless the recipient of the call has granted prior express consent (or in cases of emergency).