The Telephone Consumer Protection Act permits companies to make telephone solicitations using autodialers and pre-recorded messages once they have a consumer’s consent to do so. Many authorities have suggested that such consent can later be revoked. However, it remains an open issue whether a consumer can waive his or her right to revoke consent, contractually or otherwise.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq. (the “TCPA”), regulates telephone solicitations made using an automated telephone dialing system (also referred to as an “autodialer” or “ATDS”) and pre-recorded messages. In February 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revised its rules and regulations implementing the TCPA to further “protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing calls” while at the same time acknowledging that wireless services offer access to information that consumers find highly desirable. The revised rules and regulations require telemarketers to obtain prior express written consent before making autodialed or pre-recorded telemarketing calls. The Ninth Circuit, in Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 569 F.3d 946, 952 (9th Cir. 2009), found that the term “call,” as used in the TCPA, includes text messages. Although the TCPA requires that a consumer give consent prior to receiving telemarketing calls or messages, the TCPA and the FCC’s implementing rules and regulations are silent as to the consumer’s ability to then change his or her mind and later revoke consent. Most authorities and courts agree that, under the TCPA, consumers have the right to revoke previously given consent to be called using an ATDS or pre-recorded message (also referred to as “opting out”). More recently, however, courts have been asked to decide whether a consumer is permitted to revoke this consent where it was previously given as part of an independent contractual arrangement, or whether that right to revoke can be waived.

The FCC’s Ruling in SoundBite Permits Consumers to Revoke Consent

In 2012, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling in In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, SoundBite Communications, Inc., 27 FCC Rcd. 15391 (Nov. 26, 2012), in which the FCC, by determining that it was permissible to the send a single text message confirming a user’s desire to opt out, implied that the ability for consumers to revoke consent is built into the protections of the TCPA. The Third Circuit, in Gager v. Dell Financial Services, LLC, 727 F. 3d 265, 269 (3rd Cir. 2013), interpreted the SoundBite decision as evidence that the FCC endorses a consumer’s right to revoke his or her prior consent.