On February 15, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a Report and Order (Order) that attempts to clarify the rules for revoking consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Most notably,...more
Eversheds Sutherland presents our 8th annual TCPA year-in-review report highlighting key TCPA issues and trends. Few industries are immune from TCPA liability. In 2023, the insurance, financial services, energy and health...more
On February 8, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a News Release titled “FCC Makes AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls Illegal.” Despite this attention-grabbing headline, the FCC’s unanimous Declaratory...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules that will limit businesses’ ability to rely on lead generators and comparison shopping websites to attract new customers. In an Order issued December 13, 2023,...more
The list of states with new or amended telemarketing statutes, sometimes known as “mini-TCPAs,” is growing. A flurry of state legislative activity has created a patchwork of often-conflicting laws that companies must navigate...more
10/5/2023
/ Amended Legislation ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
New Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Robocalling ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Penalties ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing
On May 25, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a significant amendment to the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (Fla. Stat. § 501.059), sometimes referred to as the Florida mini-Telephone Consumer Protection Act...more
In a flurry of activity at its meeting on March 16, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), finalized rules aimed at robocaller identification and mobile carrier requirements, and proposed a new rule for comment...more
In early 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Facebook v. Duguid, 141 S. Ct. 1163 (2021), which significantly narrowed the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS or auto-dialer) under...more
In a unanimous Declaratory Ruling and Order (Order) issued on November 21, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that a “ringless voicemail,” which delivers a message directly to a consumer’s voicemail,...more
A statutory “safe harbor” within the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) may have become a bit safer after a federal court reinforced what defendants must do to secure statutory protection from high-dollar TCPA lawsuits....more
A federal district court judge refused to certify a class led by a serial plaintiff who prolonged unsolicited calls in order to create a cause of action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The decision is a...more
12/9/2021
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Representatives ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Private Right of Action ,
Putative Class Actions ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) poses a constant threat to companies that wish to communicate with existing and prospective customers because the statute imposes strict liability on companies that call or text...more
12/6/2021
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Databases ,
Do Not Call List ,
Due Diligence ,
FCC ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Reassigned Phone Numbers ,
Robocalling ,
Safe Harbors ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Third-Party Service Provider
In a decision that creates new hurdles for website accessibility lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), on April 7, 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that websites do not...more
4/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Split of Authority ,
TCPA ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites ,
Winn-Dixie Stores
On April 1, 2021, the US Supreme Court issued its long-awaited landmark ruling in Facebook v. Duguid, resolving a Circuit Court split on the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the Telephone...more
Supreme Court leaves TCPA intact; strikes down exception for government debt collection -
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) remains in place, but the exception permitting robocalls for government debt...more
3/26/2021
/ ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Barr v American Association of Political Consultants Inc ,
Caller ID Services ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
FCC ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Robocalling ,
SCOTUS ,
Spoofing ,
TCPA
Will anything stop the continuing barrage of class action lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)? In 2020, TCPA lawsuits remained one of the most commonly-filed type of class action in federal courts...more
1/13/2021
/ Article III ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
FCC ,
First Amendment ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Robocalling ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
TCPA ,
Third-Party Liability
Although the hunt for a workable definition of autodialer (automatic telephone dialing system, or ATDS) continues, a calling platform must be “capable of originating a call or sending a text” without human intervention in...more
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) remains in place, but the exception permitting robocalls for government debt collection has fallen, in a decision by the US Supreme Court addressing the constitutionality of the...more
7/7/2020
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Barr v American Association of Political Consultants Inc ,
Certiorari ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Content-Based Restrictions ,
Debt Collection ,
Discrimination ,
FDCPA ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Debt-Exception ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Solicitor General ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
TCPA
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set forth final rules pursuant to the federal Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act), allowing for further civil forfeiture...more
Over the past eight years, the number of cases filed in courts across the country alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) has more than quadrupled, with thousands filed each year. In 2018, another...more
New York’s Nuisance Call Act (NYNC Act), signed into law in December 2019 and effective as of March 1, 2020, amends New York’s telemarketing law (specifically, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 399-z) by requiring live voice outbound...more
3/13/2020
/ ATDS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data-Sharing ,
Do Not Call List ,
Due Process ,
Emergency Response ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
New Legislation ,
Safe Harbors ,
State of Emergency ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to send you its sixth annual REDIAL: 2019 TCPA YEAR-IN-REVIEW – ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL ISSUES AND TRENDS IN TCPA COMPLIANCE AND LITIGATION. Inside this digital edition, you will find our in-depth...more
2/12/2020
/ ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Consent ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Do Not Call List ,
Energy Sector ,
FCC ,
Hobbs Act ,
Insurance Industry ,
Marketing ,
Mobile Devices ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Reassigned Phone Numbers ,
Safe Harbors ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Authority ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages ,
TRACED Act ,
Utilities Sector
Companies in consumer-facing industries face a continued barrage of lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In 2019, TCPA lawsuits remained one of the most commonly filed type of class action in federal...more
1/30/2020
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Cell Phones ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Facebook ,
FCC ,
Mobile Devices ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Reassigned Phone Numbers ,
Revocation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Smartphones ,
Standing ,
TCPA ,
TRACED Act
2019 saw an effort by both Congress and various state legislatures to reduce the volume of robocalling and “spoofed” calls. Robocalls are pre-recorded calls placed through automated dialing equipment while spoofed calls...more
1/15/2020
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Enforcement Authority ,
FCC ,
Forfeiture ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Robocalling ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Spoofing ,
State Legislatures ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications
On December 9, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a declaratory ruling in which it found that online fax services that receive unsolicited fax advertisements “sent as email over the...more