Santander Consumer USA, Inc. (Santander) has filed a petition for declaratory ruling asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify that prior express consent to receive non-telemarketing calls and text messages to cellular telephones sent using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice message cannot be revoked. If the Commission determines that the TCPA does include the right to revoke prior express consent, Santander then asks the Commission to clarify that the caller may require consumers to use one of several methods to revoke consent. The TCPA and Commission rules prohibit autodialed or prerecorded non-emergency calls to cellular telephone numbers without the prior express consent of the called party. Santander argues that neither the TCPA nor the Commission’s prior rulings explicitly provide a right to revoke prior express consent and that this means that consumers have no right to revoke prior express consent to receive non-telemarketing calls. Comments on the petition are due September 2, 2014 and replies are due September 15, 2014.
For additional information, please contact Erin Fitzgerald.
