Bloomberg BNA Quotes Michelle Cohen on FCC’s New Rules For Telemarketers

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently adopted new rules to address telemarketers reaching wrong numbers due to reassigned numbers. To help resolve the issue, the FCC is creating a comprehensive, single database that telemarketers can reference before calls are made, to help ensure that they are contacting the right consumers and organizations. During the past several years, many businesses have faced lawsuits under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when they called customers, but the telephone number had been reassigned to a new party (who had not consented to the call). The new database seeks to help companies determine if a telephone number has changed status.

Telemarketing trade groups have raised concerns with the new rules, requesting that the FCC include language that protects database users from liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Michelle Cohen, who has extensive experience in consumer protection and the TCPA, told Bloomberg BNA that the database is “a step in the right direction” and also recommends that businesses keep their own databases updated in an effort to reduce the risk of being held liable under the TCPA.

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