Virginia amended its Telephone Privacy Protection Act, effective at the start of January. Among other changes, the law removes the word "call" in many places that impose requirements on telephone solicitations. As a reminder, the definition of telephone solicitation already included texts, under an amendment from 2020.
The new changes, which are twofold, emphasize the states' desire to apply the law to texts. Many of the changes remove the word "call" from locations that discuss telephone solicitation obligations. Other changes add detail about effectuating the law's obligations as they apply to texts. Some highlights to keep in mind:
- Opt out: The law's existing opt-out requirement for phone call solicitations has been imposed on text solicitations. For a voice solicitations, the call recipient must be able to "make a request" during regular business hours. For texts, under the revised rule, companies can effectuate their opt-out obligations if text recipients can reply by text to opt out (with the words "UNSUBSCRIBE" or "STOP"). Opt-out requests need to be honored for 10 years.
- Do not call lists: Companies may not send solicitation texts to anyone on the national do-not-call registry. They must also maintain – and scrub against – their own internal do-not-call lists. These restrictions do not apply if the recipient has given prior express (signed) written permission. Additionally, the need to scrub against the national do-not-call registry does not apply if there is an established business relationship or personal relationship.
- Joint liability: those making telephone solicitation texts on behalf of another (the solicitor) and the other entity (the seller) are now jointly liable. Just as they were for solicitation calls.
- Timing: And finally, as a reminder, the law permits telephone solicitations outside of the 8am to 9pm call timing restriction if there has been prior consent.
Putting It Into Practice: Companies with nationwide texting programs will want to look at their practices to ensure they capture the Virginia law changes. This includes opt-out and do-not-call processes. Sellers may also expect to see requests from solicitors (text vendors) relating to this update.
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