We are pleased to present our latest Monthly TCPA Digest, providing insights and news related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In this issue's Regulatory Update, we discuss the expansion of the FCC's robocalling investigation partnerships to include five additional states — Alaska, California, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Washington — and how these and other FCC-state collaborations are expected to help combat robocalls. In addition, we cover the FCC Enforcement Bureau's latest cease-and-desist letters to companies facilitating unlawful robocalling traffic on their networks, outline clarifications from the Commission regarding the use of the Reassigned Numbers Database (RND), and review Acting FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel's response to a letter from Representative Vern Buchanan seeking information about the Commission's efforts to combat scam calls and protect vulnerable consumers.
In our Litigation Update, you'll find a discussion of the Eighth Circuit's recent Beal v. Outfield Brew House ruling, one of the first appellate decisions to interpret the Supreme Court's reasoning in its 2021 Facebook v. Duguid case. In Facebook, the Court narrowed the definition of "autodialer" (ATDS), ruling that under TCPA, the term refers only to a device that uses a random or sequential number generator when storing or dialing telephone numbers. By holding that a product that randomly selects numbers from a stored list is not an ATDS if it does not generate random or sequential phone numbers to begin with, the Eighth Circuit rejected plaintiffs' misreading of Facebook. Its decision should help bolster defendants' arguments nationwide.
If you have suggestions for topics you'd like us to feature in this newsletter, or any questions about the content in this issue, please feel free to reach out to an attorney on Mintz's TCPA and Consumer Calling Practice team.
In This Edition
Part I – TCPA Regulatory Update
- FCC Adds States to Its Partnerships to End Robocalling
- FCC Enforcement Bureau Sends More Cease-and-Desist Letters, Cashes in on Federal-State Partnerships
- FCC Clarifies Safe Harbor and Tweaks Pricing in the Reassigned Numbers Database
- FCC Chair Responds to Congressional Questions About Robocall Enforcement
Part II – TCPA Litigation Update
Eighth Circuit Finds System That Sends Texts to Stored Numbers Is Not an ATDS
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