FCC Clarifies Rules on Prerecorded Voice Messages

On February 18, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission released its Second Order on Reconsideration in its rulemaking proceeding implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (the TCPA). The Order denies nearly all of the dozens of requests that the FCC reconsider or modify the telemarketing rules adopted by the FCC in its 2003 Report and Order, and changes the rules only to correct a minor error. The Order will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. A summary of the key aspects of the Order is below.

In general, the Order addresses the more routine requests for reconsideration of the rules and leaves for a later date thornier issues. For example, the FCC declined to address petitions for reconsideration relating to the extent to which states may apply their do-not-call laws to interstate telemarketing, and petitions asking the FCC to preempt state telemarketing laws.

The Order also does not address petitions for reconsideration of the FCCs facsimile advertising rules. The FCC stated that it will address these matters in separate orders, but gave no indication of its timetable for doing so. In light of impending changes to the Commission, including the departure of Chairman Michael Powell (expected in March), we do not expect the FCC to revisit these issues until late this year.

Prerecorded Voice Messages
Debt Collection Calls. FCC rules require that all prerecorded messages identify, among other information, the name of the business, individual, or other entity responsible for initiating the call.

Because such disclosure could trigger liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits the existence of a debt to persons other than the debtor and prohibits debt collectors from communicating any information to third parties, even inadvertently, with respect to the existence of a debt, the Order clarifies that, if a call is made for the purpose of debt collection and not “for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods or services,” a debt collector is not required to identify its state-registered name in prerecorded messages if identification conflicts with federal or state laws, including the FDCPA.

The FCC noted that this position is consistent with the FTCs position that debt collection calls are not “telemarketing” calls under the FTCs rules.

For this complete story, please visit FCC Clarifies Rules on Prerecorded Voice Messages.