FCC Chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel issued a press release on Wednesday stating that she has circulated to her fellow FCC commissioners and proposal that, if adopted by the agency, will clarify that the TCPA and related FCC rules impose a consent standard on "ringless voicemails" delivered to a user's voicemail inbox.
The proposed action responds to a 2017 Petition for Declaratory Ruling filed by a company called All About the Message that argued that because ringless voicemails bypass telephone networks and are transmitted directly to telephone company voicemail servers at no charge to users, they are not "calls" governed by the TCPA and FCC rules.
The text of the proposed action is not yet public; but, if adopted, the action is expected to impose a consent standard on ringless voicemails when they are transmitted to a recipient's voicemail inbox. It also may require those transmitting ringless voicemails to comply with other TCPA and FCC rules governing prerecorded calls.
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