The American Teleservices Association (ATA) shares the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) goals and supports its agenda to enforce existing laws and create greater clarity in regulatory language related to consumer protection.
Today the FCC approved a Report and Order that will amend its Telephone Consumer Protection Act regulations. The Commission stated that the amendment “protects consumers from unwanted autodialed or prerecorded calls (‘robocalls’) by adopting rules that ensure consumers have given prior express written consent before receiving such calls. Additionally, consumers can easily opt out of further robocalls through automated means.”
“The ATA has been very active in this rulemaking process and has provided the FCC with comments. We support the finding that prerecorded sales calls will be prohibited while maintaining the status quo for informational or non-sales calls,” stated Phil Grudzinski, CEO of the ATA. The amendment will still allow prerecorded messages that consumers prefer to receive on their cell phones. These include:
- Calls from schools notifying parents that schools are closed or will close early due to weather conditions or local emergencies;
- Calls from airlines, train operators, etc. notifying travelers of delays and cancellations;
- Calls from credit card issuers notifying consumers of suspected fraud activity; and
- Other calls that consumers have expressly consented to receive.
“The ATA will continue to work with the FCC in the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of these regulations and we continue to be strongly committed to consumer advocacy in all engagements with consumers. The ATA looks forward to reviewing the final rules that the FCC puts forth,” Grudzinski commented.