ACA International v. FCC: What You Need to Know

When Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991, the majority of American consumers were using landline telephones. Today, not only have a majority of households dispensed with landlines, but a large and growing percentage of consumers—especially millennials—prefer to be contacted via text message, research shows.

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted an Omnibus Order that imposed new regulations to implement the TCPA in a mobile-first era—which introduced a variety of complications for vehicle finance companies.

This spring, a landmark case was decided in the D.C. Circuit that will likely lead to new definitions and potentially new ways of regulating consumer telecommunications.

D.C. Circuit to FCC: What is an ATDS?

In its March 2018 ruling in ACA International v. FCC, the D.C. court ordered the FCC to reconsider its definition of an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS), as laid out in the 2015 Omnibus Order.

This means the FCC will need to revise and clarify certain aspects of its guidance.

There are Several Steps you Should Take to be Ready

For example, if your company is regulated by the TCPA, you should proceed with caution, understanding that non-compliance with the Act can carry steep financial penalties and negative, attention-grabbing headlines.

Another crucial strategy is to partner with a dedicated compliance team that can take on the monitoring and implementation of regulatory developments like the FCC’s forthcoming TCPA revisions. It will be increasingly challenging to maintain a real-time and comprehensive understanding of the requirements, so the right partner can mean the difference between being caught unaware and staying a step ahead of the developments as they occur.

Download our new whitepaper, “No Reception,” for the full details on preparing for the upcoming changes to TCPA regulation.

At LenderLive, we help the nation’s largest vehicle finance companies comply with consumer protection laws and operationalize compliance in an always-evolving regulatory environment.