Robocalls & Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Archives

New FCC Ruling Supports Advocates’ Petition Urging it to Stop Unwanted Robocalls from Federal Contractors but Leaves Gray Area Regarding States’ Role

December 15, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order granting in part a Petition for Reconsideration filed by the National Consumer Law Center on behalf of a broad coalition of national, state and local legal services groups challenging the agency’s 2016 Broadnet Declaratory Ruling. The 2016 FCC…

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case on December 8 that Could Open the Floodgates to More Invasive Robocalls

December 7, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 7, 2020 Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Facebook v Duguid. The Court’s decision, expected by next spring, could either uphold Americans’ right to stop unwanted robocalls and robotexts to their cell phones or render the phones useless by making many invasive autodialed…

CFPB Debt Collection Rule a Mixed Bag for Consumers

October 30, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 30, 2020 One-Third of U.S. Adults with a Credit Report Have Debt in Collection Washington, D.C. – The National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low income clients, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, and the National Association of Consumer Advocates, expressed…

Letter to the FCC regarding Notice of Ex Parte Presentation, CG docket No. 02-278

August 21, 2020

Petition of Assurance IQ, LLC This ex parte Notice relates to a meeting held on August 11 between representatives from variousconsumer groups with staff of the Bureau on Consumer and Governmental Affairs, along with TimSostrin, an attorney representing a consumer in a case pending against Assurance IQ, LLC. TheBureau staff in attendance were Aaron Garza,…

Consumer Groups Demand Review of FCC Ruling that the Calling Industry Claims Will Allow Millions More Unsolicited Text Messages and Calls to Consumers’ Cellphones

July 24, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2020 Advocates seek review of the Declaratory Ruling issued by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, which blesses P2P texting platforms invented to evade consumer protections WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer groups, led by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) on behalf of its low-income clients, today filed an appeal with…

Supreme Court Votes to Uphold Right to Stop Political Robocalls and Texts; Advocates Stress Importance of FCC in Upholding Key Consumer Privacy Law (TCPA)

July 6, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 6, 2020 Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Barr et al v. American Political Consultants, upheld the constitutionality of the provision of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that gives Americans the right to stop unwanted robocalls and texts to their mobile telephones. The case, brought by a…

Consumer Groups Support FCC Allowing Limited Automated Calls Related to COVID-19 from Lenders to Customers

April 10, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Six national consumer groups, including the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income client), filed comments with the FCC supporting part of the petition by the American Bankers Association and other lenders petition to make automated calls from the institutions to alert their customers to callers’ offers related to the…

Telecom Carrier and Consumer Groups Stress Critical Need to Maintain Landmark Consumer Privacy Law to Protect Integrity of Communications System and Curb Robocalls in U.S. Supreme Court Case

March 3, 2020

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America and Verizon filed a joint amicus brief in Barr v American Association of Political Consultants, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in which a group of robocallers is challenging the constitutionality of a provision of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA),…

Bipartisan TRACED Act Signed Into Law, Latest Tool in Fight Against the Robocall Epidemic

December 30, 2019

FCC must now move aggressively to provide critical relief for consumers Washington, D.C. – Today, the bipartisan Pallone-Thune TRACED Act was signed into law in an important step forward to provide Americans some relief from the plague of robocalls. The final bill, passed overwhelming by the U.S. House last month, includes elements from the bills…

Robot Calls (prerecorded audio clips) Are Prerecorded Calls. And the FCC Agrees.

October 21, 2019

Prolific robocaller Yodel Technologies seeks exemption for making over 77 million unwanted and illegal telemarketing calls using AI and prerecorded voice messages. WASHINGTON – Yodel Technologies (Yodel) seeks to escape liability by petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an exemption for its “robot calls.” Using its “soundboard” technology to mimic a consumer’s interaction with…

More than 200 Organizations Across 50 States and D.C. Call for Strong Consumer Protections on Debt Collection

September 19, 2019

CFPB proposal would allow for more consumer abuse and harassment from debt collection industry Washington, DC – Late yesterday, a coalition of 232 nonprofit organizations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to its proposal that protects abusive debt collectors more than consumers. Instead of giving…

Consumer Groups Praise Overwhelming House Passage of Strong Anti-Robocalls Bill

July 24, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives struck a strong bipartisan blow against robocalls plaguing consumers today with a near-unanimous 429 – 3 vote to pass H.R. 3375, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act. The bill takes major steps to curb abusive robocalling by adopting important new consumer protections including: Requiring clear FCC regulations to…

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