On July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or “Commission”) issued a declaratory ruling and order under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”), resolving 21 separate requests for clarification from consumers and industry groups in the face of growing litigation and technological changes in the field of telemarketing.

The FCC’s order expands the scope of TCPA liability by broadly interpreting key definitions and effectively eliminating some defenses that businesses have used to defeat TCPA litigation in the past. It also provides very narrowly tailored exemptions for communications relating to the financial services and healthcare industries.