The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau is seeking comment on a Petition for Declaratory Ruling filed by the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), which asks for clarification that “called party,” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the FCC’s rules refers to the intended recipient of the call. Pursuant to the FCC’s rules, a calling party must obtain the prior express consent of the called party before placing autodialed or artificial or prerecorded-voice calls to wireless numbers. The CBA wants certain time-sensitive informational calls to be exempt from the restrictions on automated calls to mobile devices, such as calls that alert consumers about transactions and events that suggest a risk of fraud or identity theft, and calls concerning possible breaches of the security of consumer’s personal information. The CBA contends that, “[i]f a caller is liable for obtaining the consent of persons, such as holders of reassigned numbers, whose identities cannot be ascertained before calls are placed, then complete compliance with the prior express consent requirement is impossible.” Comments on the petition are due on or before November 17, 2014, and reply comments are due December 1, 2014.
