FCC Cracks Down on Robocalls by Changing Telemarketing Rules
The FCC approved changes to its telemarketing rules, hindering the placing of unwanted automated telemarketing calls, also known as “robocalls.” The Commission voted 3-0 Wednesday to approve the report and order which changes current rules and eliminates loopholes telemarketers have been using to make the calls.
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Under the new rules, businesses must receive written consent from customers before placing robocalls and an option must be made available throughout a robocall for customers to opt out of future calls. Current rules already require consent for robocalls made to cellphones.
Robocalls can no longer be made to previous customers, the changes say. The rules also strictly limit how many abandoned or “dead air” calls telemarketers can make. Dead air calls occur when telemarketers dial many parties at once and might not have a representative available for each person dialed, leaving some parties with silence.
The rules still don’t affect charities or political speech, but do affect businesses like banks, insurance companies and telephone service providers. The changes also ensure that informational calls, like ones about school closings or prescription refills, are not considered telemarketing calls and won’t be affected.
These rules are a reaffirmation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, said CTIA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Christopher Guttman-McCabe. These changes align with the association’s stance against unwanted telemarketing text messages, he said: “This reconfirmation is significant in light of the increase in consumer complaints and inquiries made to carriers’ customer call centers regarding unwanted text messages sent by political campaigns."
The rule change is “consumer empowerment,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who noted unwanted telemarketing calls and texts were among the top three consumer complaint categories at the Commission in 2011. “We have gotten thousands of complaints,” Genachowski said. “Consumers were still getting robocalls they don’t want and shouldn’t get.” The change also harmonizes the FCC telemarketing rules with FTC rules, Genachowski said. Commissioner Robert McDowell said there’s no reason for the industry to be “confused by an array of inconsistent rules,” and these changes will simplify things for industry players.