On October 1, 2020, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking comment on proposed amendments to exemptions authorized by the Commission under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”) to bring them into compliance with Section 8 of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (“TRACED Act”). The TRACED Act mandates that any exemption authorized by the FCC under the TCPA must identify: (1) the classes of parties that may make such calls; (2) the classes of parties that may be called; and (3) the number of such calls that may be made to a particular called party. Comments will be due 15 days after publication in the Federal Register and Reply Comments will be due 25 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The FCC seeks comment on amending the following exemptions to comply with Section 8 : (1) Non-Commercial Calls to a Residence; (2) Commercial Calls to a Residence that Do Not Constitute Telemarketing; (3) Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Organization Calls to a Residence; (4) HIPPA Calls to a Residence; and (5) Cellular Carrier Calls to Subscribers. Among other things, the FCC proposes potential classes of callers, seeks comment on whether a numerical limit should be adopted; and proposes to mandate an opt-out option.
The FCC believes the following exemptions satisfy the requirements of Section 8, and seeks comment on this conclusion as well as whether these exemptions remain in the public interest: (1) Package Delivery Calls to a Wireless Number; (2) Financial Institution Calls to a Wireless Number; (3) Healthcare Provider Calls to a Wireless Number; and (4) Inmate Calling Service Calls to a Wireless
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