Consumer Groups Urge Broad FCC 'ATDS' Definition to Cover Texting Under TCPA
Consumer groups said the FCC must broadly define "automated telephone dialing systems" to extend Telephone Consumer Protection Act cellphone protections to texting. "As texts do not involve either a prerecorded or an artificial voice, the TCPA’s restrictions on calls to…
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cell phones apply to texts only if they were made using an" ATDS, said National Consumer Law Center filings on a meeting it and other groups had with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai, posted Thursday in docket 02-278. "If the Commission issues a definition of ATDS that is as narrow as the calling industry urges, the consequence will be that automated texts will no longer be subject to these consumer protections." The other groups were Consumers Union, Public Knowledge, the National Association of Consumer Advocates and Electronic Privacy Information Center. They also said the "right to revoke TCPA consent cannot be limited by contract," a "debt collection rule should be finalized and implemented immediately" and the "Commission should revoke its Broadnet Ruling."