These rules stem from the TCPA and the TRACED Act. Important to note is that the calls under discussion are typically legitimate calls generated by organizations calling consumers using auto-dialers, not robocalls intended for fraudulent purposes.

TCPA

The TCPA prohibits telephone calls to any residential telephone line or cell phone using a prerecorded message without the prior express consent of the called party. However, the TCPA does allow some exemptions for certain types of calls.

TRACED Act

Section 8 of the TRACED Act requires that any TCPA exemptions granted by the FCC be specific in terms of callers, called parties, and call limits. Here are examples of specific restrictions by the FCC:

Non-commercial, commercial, non-telemarketing calls by tax-exempt nonprofit organizations: Three artificial or prerecorded voice calls within any consecutive 30-day period.

Package delivery company: One artificial or prerecorded voice call per package. Maximum of two artificial or prerecorded voice calls per package if a delivery signature is required.

Inmate collect call service provider: Three notification calls to establish a billing arrangement for inmate collect calls following an unsuccessful collect call.

Financial institution: Three artificial or prerecorded voice calls or text messages per event over a 3-day period for an affected account. Voice calls and text messages may be sent only to the wireless number provided by the customer.

HIPAA-related: One artificial or prerecorded voice call per day. Maximum of three artificial or prerecorded voice calls per week.

Further details of each exemption type are outlined here .

Petitions

ACA International (ACA) and Enterprise Communications Advocacy Coalition (ECAC) filed petitions for the FCC to reconsider some of their requirements. There were also comments made by utility company advocates that led to amendments in this ruling.

Petitioners believed that the rules inadvertently imposed a written consent requirement to exceed the call limits. They asked that the FCC clarify that the rule only require prior express consent, but specifies that it does not require it to be in writing.

Petitioners also separately challenged specific call limits, claiming inconsistent requirements for calls from utility companies to residential numbers versus calls to wireless numbers. Petitions requested that these be made consistent.

Decisions

In their declaratory ruling, the FCC issued the following decisions:

• The rules will be revised to permit callers to obtain express prior consent either orally or in writing.
• The numerical limits in the rules will remain unchanged. Rules for calls from utility companies to their customers' residential and wireless numbers will amended to be consistent.

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