On November 12, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) in the Federal Register seeking information from the public about the operations, disclosures and practices used by debt collectors as well as creditors selling and collecting on their own consumer debts. The ANPR follows the CFPB’s July 2013 issuance of two guidance bulletins (“July 2013 Bulletins”) that address debt collection practices. The CFPB continues to explore ways to uniformly apply federal debt collection requirements to both creditors and debt holders—which are generally exempted from the requirements of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) when collecting on their own debts—and third-party debt collectors.

Importantly, the ANPR represents the widest rulemaking inquiry to date by the Bureau into the use of social media and other modern forms of communication in consumer-facing activities. It follows that the CFPB’s actions pursuant to the ANPR likely will shape the Bureau’s overall approach to the use of digital and social media in consumer financial services.