Washington (August 8, 2023) — Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, wrote to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today urging the Commission to enforce its existing regulations regarding consent for receiving telemarketing calls (robocalls). The letter was signed by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
The letter also asks the FCC to issue guidance along the lines of the FTC’s recent Business Guidance restating the FCC’s long-held requirements for these unwanted telemarketing calls. By issuing guidance similar to the FTC’s, the FCC will assist telemarketers and sellers in complying with these requirements.
“While the consideration of new regulations may be appropriate in some instances, we believe that the FCC’s current regulations already prohibit many of the activities that lead to the proliferation of unwanted telemarketing calls,” wrote the senators. “Both the regulations issued in 2003 delineating the rules for telemarketers to obtain consent for calls to lines subscribed to the Do Not Call Registry, and those issued in 2012 governing consent to receive telemarketing calls made with an artificial or prerecorded voice or an automated telephone dialing system, clearly set out the types of protections intended by Congress to eliminate unwanted telemarketing calls.”
The senators concluded, “As Congress instructed the FCC “to maximize consistency with the rule promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission” relating to the implementation of the Do-Not-Call Registry, we respectfully urge the FCC to issue a guidance along the lines of the FTC’s recent Business Guidance restating its long-held requirements for these unwanted telemarketing calls. As inconsistent rules governing the same activity would be problematic, by issuing guidance similar to the FTC’s, the FCC will assist telemarketers and sellers in complying with these requirements.”
This letter is endorsed by Appleseed, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Privacy Information Center, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, National Consumers League, Public Citizen, Public Knowledge, and U.S. PIRG.
Full text of the letter is available HERE.
Senator Markey is coauthor of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation to combat the rise of illegal robocalls that was enacted in 2019 and, among other things, required the FCC to designate an entity to conduct privately led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected illegal robocalls. In 2021, he and his colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee introduced the Robocall Trace Back Enhancement Act to help bolster privately led efforts to trace back the origins of illegal and bothersome robocalls.
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