The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to possibly amend the exemptions that have been granted under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act allowing some entities to make calls using automated telephone dialing systems or artificial or pre-recorded voices, which could possibly include debt collection calls.
A copy of the NPRM can be accessed by clicking here. A comment period will open once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register and will remain open for 15 days.
The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act directs the FCC to ensure that any exemption granted under the TCPA include certain requirements, namely the classes of parties that may make such calls, the classes of parties that may be called, and the number of calls that can be made to a called party.
Of most interest to debt collectors is the exemption that was granted allowing commercial calls made to a residence that do not involve telemarketing using an artificial or pre-recorded voice. Noting that the exemption does not specify the classes of parties that may make such calls and the number of calls that can be made, the FCC is seeking comment on how to address those issues.
The FCC is proposing to create two categories of calls – informational calls and transactional calls. Informational calls would be just that — calls that are only providing information, and transactional calls would be calls to complete or confirm a commercial transaction with the called party.
The FCC is also seeking comment on whether to institute a limit on the number of calls that can be made under this exemption and, should it choose to do so, how best to implement such a cap.
