Michigan Credit Union League issued the following announcement on Feb. 7
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should clarify expeditiously the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS), CUNA and several other trade organizations wrote to the agency. The letter continues CUNA’s push for clarity under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
CUNA is concerned that an overly broad definition of an autodialer, and other provisions in July 2015 changes to the TCPA, creates uncertainty over credit unions’ ability to contact members with important account information.
“With substantial progress made to combat illegal calls, the Commission should take action to ensure that consumers receive the important, and often time-sensitive, informational calls that legitimate businesses place by reforming the Commission’s TCPA interpretations,” the letter reads. “Addressing unresolved TCPA issues should be one of the Commission’s very top priorities in 2020. The Commission has received extensive input from a diverse array of stakeholders on the definition of ATDS, including the D.C. Circuit. It is imperative that the Commission take action to ensure that the definition of ATDS conforms to the text of the statute and provides certainty for actors in the calling ecosystem.”
The original petition requests the FCC:
Make clear that to be an ATDS, equipment must use a random or sequential number generator to store or produce numbers and dial those numbers without human intervention; and
Find that only calls made using actual ATDS capabilities are subject to TCPA restrictions.
The joint letter calls on the FCC to grant the petition for five reasons:
Uncertainty about the scope of the ATDS definition has led to divergent TCPA interpretations among federal courts, greatly complicating the compliance efforts of legal callers;
Consumers are harmed when they do not receive time-critical communications from credit unions and other entities;
Clarification of the ATDS definition is needed to bring the definition into conformity with the text of statute and congressional intent;
The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the ATDS definition continues to fan the flame of abusive TCPA litigation; and
The FCC has had ample time to consider the definition, as the court decision overturning the ATDS interpretation was nearly two years ago.
Original source can be found here.
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