Legal Industry News

January 5, 2012

Proposed Bill Allowing Robo-Calls to Cell Phones Withdrawn after Strong Opposition by 50 State Attorneys

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The sponsor of a congressional effort to allow robo-callers to target cell phones has withdrawn the proposed legislation, according to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller who was one of the fifty state attorneys who expressed their strong opposition to this bill.

The “Mobile Informational Call Act” (House Resolution 3035), which amends the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), would allow robo-calling to cell phones, leaving some consumers to foot the bill for the calls, explained the Alaska State Attorney General’s Office.

For example, debt collectors and other businesses could place automated “informational” calls to cell phones, impacting those who pay by the minute or have a limited number of minutes available.

U.S. Rep. Lee Terry (R-Nebraska), sponsor of the legislation that caught the eye of attorneys general and consumer advocates across the nation, sent a letter to the chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, asking for the legislation to be pulled, said Miller, quoting media reports.

Currently, federal law allows robo-calls to be placed to people who have given their explicit consent to receive them. If H.R. 3035 passes, the law will be expanded to allow businesses to robo-call any consumer who has provided their telephone number in the course of a transaction – regardless of whether a consumer asks not to be contacted.

State attorneys general are concerned that H.R. 3035 would limit their ability to enforce stricter state laws against junk faxes, prerecorded calls or text messages. The legislation would also narrow the definition of what constitutes an illegal “automatic telephone dialing system.” If passed, the new definition would only prohibit “random or sequential number generators” which means “targeted” calls would be permitted.

The attorneys general also pointed out that an increase in calls to mobile phones could present a hazard to drivers who may become distracted. A 2009 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that cell phone use was involved in 18 percent of fatalities in distraction-related crashes.

Attorneys-General added that the bill, if enacted into law, would have undermined current federal and state efforts that shield consumers from solicitation, marketing, debt collection and other unwanted calls and texts to their cell phones. It would have also undermined various state consumer protection laws by preempting state laws concerning junk faxes, unwanted text messages, automated calls, or any provision on telephone solicitations that is stronger or different from those in the TCPA.

Rather than gutting state regulation concerning harassing calls and faxes, the Attorneys General urged Congress to make two small but significant changes to the TCPA to better protect consumers: (1) protect consumers’ privacy by clarifying that prior express consent to robocalls must be obtained in writing; and (2) eliminate any suggestion from the TCPA that state statutes regulating interstate telephone and fax harassment are preempted.