The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) is the primary law in the U.S. governing the conduct of telemarketers. Its primary regulator is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The TCPA restricts the use of dialers, prerecorded voice messages, SMS text messages received by cell phones, and the use of fax machines. Even though the law was not designed with ARM in mind, debt collectors often find themselves restricted in the communication technology they can use. In addition, contradictory guidance from regulators and court rulings has led to an explosion in the number of TCPA cases collection agencies must defend.

insideARM maintains an abundance of information about TCPA developments related to the ARM industry. View our case law grid here, and our TCPA Toolbox here.

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TCPA Hits Close to Home: Unilateral Acts of Plaintiff Cannot Trigger Jurisdiction in Far-Flung Forums

1 September 2020

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TCPA Filings Way Down so Far in August, 2020– Dog Days of Summer or Facebook Effect?

24 August 2020

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The Final Piece to the ATDS Puzzle? Huge TCPA Ruling in Kansas May Determine the Fate of Tenth Circuit ATDS Cases Ahead of Facebook

18 August 2020

Photo of a line of people looking at their mobile phones [Image by creator ultramansk from AdobeStock]

Callers, Start Your Engines: Reassigned Number Database is Revving Up

3 August 2020

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Skip Tracing TCPA Problem for Debt Collector: Court Denies Class Certification; but Gives Plaintiff a Second Chance

3 August 2020

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Score is Now 3-2 in Favor of Marks: 6th Circuit Adopts 9th Circuit Definition of ATDS

30 July 2020

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ATDS Allegations Against Debt Collectors Simply not Plausible in Seventh Circuit, Says Illinois Court

23 July 2020

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Here’s Everything You Need to Know About This Year's 8 Big TCPA Stories

21 July 2020

Image of a man's arm punched through a yellow wall, giving a thumbs up [Image by creator WayhomeStudio from AdobeStock]

FCC Approves Call Blocking Safe Harbor

20 July 2020

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Fractured ATDS Landscape: This Graphic Explains Why SCOTUS is Taking Another Look at the TCPA

13 July 2020

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Constitutional Law and Third-Party Collections: Assessing the Supreme Court’s New Ruling on Federal Debt

13 July 2020

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TCPA Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Continue to Get Slapped Around in RICO Conspiracy Case

9 July 2020

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A Dark Day for Free Speech: Supreme Court Upholds Statute Supposedly Preventing Robocalls–But at what Cost?

7 July 2020

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U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Government Debt Exemption of TCPA

6 July 2020

A person holding a mobile phone that appears to have illustrated white charts, graphs, and dollar signs popping out of it [Image by creator ra2 studio from AdobeStock]

FCC Holds That Text Platforms Requiring Manual Number Entry Are Not ATDS Under TCPA

2 July 2020

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Ninth Circuit Says No to Marks Revisit En Banc

25 June 2020

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What is a “System” for ATDS Purposes? Important New TCPA Decision Takes a Decidedly Narrow Read on a Tricky Issue of (Almost) First Impression

18 June 2020

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Mid-Year Litigation Review

16 June 2020

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Plaintiff’s Prerecorded Message Allegations Adequately Assert ATDS Violation Against Debt Collector

15 June 2020

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TCPA Personal Liability Rule Narrowed? Seventh Circuit Holds Mere Knowledge of Illegal Conduct is not Enough to Hold an Officer Personally Liable for TCPA Violation

9 June 2020