[co-author: Stephanie Kozo]*
On June 8, a bipartisan coalition of 28 attorneys general issued a letter, supporting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to close a “loophole” that currently allows lead generators to collect and sell personal consumer information to third parties using a “single consumer consent,” typically leading to multiple consumer solicitations (telemarketing calls and/or texts) beyond the scope of the original consent. At present, lead generators commonly will offer quotes for goods or services stipulated on receiving consent to share the consumers’ personal information with their “marketing partners” — aka third-party solicitors.
According to Virginia AG Jason Miyares, “Sleazy ‘lead generators’ try to trick people into consenting to receive spam calls or texts from hundreds of companies they’ve never heard of and never want to hear from. We are asking the FCC to toughen the rules on consent requirements so [our constituents] only hear from organizations they agree to.” North Carolina AG Josh Stein added: “Robocalls and texts are not only annoying, they also put hard-working [consumers] at risk of being scammed.”
In their letter, AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming urged the FCC to eliminate “the current practices of the lead generation industry, unscrupulous voice service providers, and illegal robocallers” by adopting rules where consumers can consent to receive calls only from the original seller. They also requested that the amended rules include “‘clear and conspicuous disclosure’ of the consequences of providing the requested consent.”
Why It Matters
By urging the FCC to clarify and confirm its existing rules on “prior written express consent,” the 28 AGs demonstrate their commitment to better protecting consumers from unwanted scam calls and texts. Their recommendation to clearly ensure that “prior written express consent” applies only to an individual consumer and one specific seller shows the AGs’ determination to “shut down these unreliable and illegal methods of purportedly obtaining consent from consumers for marketing robocalls and texts.” Further, the AGs’ recommendation also aligns with the Federal Trade Commission’s analogous Telemarketing Sale Rule’s requirement for sellers to obtain “express, written agreement” from the called party.
*Senior Government Relations Manager
