Trade Groups Urge Swift Action by FCC to Reform TCPA

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry trade groups, including bank and credit union trade groups, in a February 5 letter urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue without delay a re-interpretation of a key term in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA): the definition of an “automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS),” commonly known as an “autodialer.”

The FCC is considering issuing new TCPA rules in light of a federal appellate court’s decision in 2018 to strike down the FCC’s expansive definition of that statutory term.

The groups asserted that “consumers are harmed when they do not receive time-critical, non-telemarketing communications” from banks and other companies “because the business is discouraged from placing the call due to litigation risk.”

The groups also claim that ongoing uncertainty surrounding the definition of ATDS continues to fan the flames of abusive TCPA litigation.

Read the letter.