Leah Dempsey, ACA’s vice president, senior counsel of federal advocacy, discussed legal issues under the TCPA and the pending Facebook Inc. v. Duguid case during Federal Communications Bar Association event. Editor’s Note: This article is available for members only.
12/2/2020 8:30
ACA International Vice President and Senior Counsel Leah Dempsey had the opportunity to present an industry perspective on Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigation and its impact on financial services companies during a panel discussion with the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) Nov. 19.
In addition to the pending oral argument in the TCPA case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Facebook Inc. v. Duguid, Dempsey highlighted other discussions on the 1991 law happening at the regulatory level.
As the Federal Communications Commission works to implement requirements in the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act before the end of the year, ACA is focused on exemptions the FCC should consider.
“ACA worked with a group from the calling community that includes financial service providers, health care companies, utility providers and, really, a diverse group of callers,” Dempsey said during the panel, as reported by Communications Daily. [Subscription Required.] “Most oppose a rule that would impose frequency limits on calls…”
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic proved the importance of keeping communication options open for consumers and businesses, especially in the highly regulated accounts receivable management (ARM) industry.
“Limiting communication, in general … particularly during COVID-19, can be really problematic,” Dempsey said. “We have seen a record number of inbound calls during COVID-19 because consumers have a lot of questions.”
The panel discussion also featured Mark Stone, deputy bureau chief, consumer and governmental affairs bureau at the Federal Communications Commission.
The oral argument in Facebook Inc. v. Duguid, a key TCPA case before the U.S. Supreme Court, is scheduled for Dec. 8.
“We’ve seen rulings across the country … that talked about basically anything that comes from a list could be considered to be an autodialed call,” Dempsey said during the panel. “Even apps on your phone could be an autodialer or your iPhone, in general, could be an autodialer.”
The problems are most acute for small businesses, she said.
“Because people don’t know exactly what is an autodialer … they won’t choose to use anything close to an autodialer,” Dempsey said.
The FCBA event also included mock oral arguments for Facebook Inc. v. Duguid.