On August 4, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Declaratory Ruling granting in part two separate petitions that were filed last year – one by the Edison Electric Institute and American Gas Association, and another by Blackboard, Inc. – regarding application of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) to certain types of non-telemarketing, informational “robocalls” placed by energy utilities and schools, respectively. The TCPA prohibits, among other things, robocalls (calls and texts that are placed using an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice) to mobile numbers unless they are made for an “emergency purpose” or with “prior express consent.”
The Declaratory Ruling confirms that:
(1) Energy utilities are deemed to have the requisite “prior express consent” to place robocalls regarding matters “closely related to the utility service” (namely, calls regarding planned or unplanned service outages or service restoration, calls regarding meter work, tree trimming, or other field work, calls regarding payment or other problems that threaten service curtailment, and calls about potential brown-outs due to heavy energy use) if placed to numbers provided by customers; and
(2) Schools can lawfully place certain types of robocalls to members of the school communities pursuant to the “emergency purpose” exception in the TCPA (namely, calls concerning weather closures, incidents of threats and/or imminent danger due to fires, dangerous persons, or health risks, and unexcused absences), and schools are deemed to have the requisite “prior express consent” to place other types of robocalls that are “closely related to the school’s mission” (namely, notifications of upcoming teacher conferences and general school activities) if placed to numbers provided by the recipients.
For a more detailed summary of the Declaratory Ruling, click here.
While the FCC largely granted the relief requested by the petitioners regarding the type of consent that is required to place “robocalls,” the agency reminded businesses of their obligation to comply with other TCPA requirements when placing robocalls, such as the opt-out requirements and ceasing robocalls to numbers that have been reassigned to new subscribers. TCPA litigation is on the rise, and the FCC has adopted stringent requirements for automated calls and texts, so all businesses should ensure that they understand their obligations when using these technologies to communicate with current and former customers, employees, and others.