Telephone and Texting Compliance News — January 2024

By Russell H. Fox, Jonathan P. Garvin, Joshua Briones, Esteban Morales

We are pleased to present our latest edition of Telephone and Texting Compliance News, providing insights and news related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In this month’s newsletter, we discuss the FCC’s Proposed Rulemaking involving consumer consent and a news release about the Commission’s Notice of Inquiry on the use of AI in robocalls, which indicates Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s intent to propose that calls made with AI-generated voices are “artificial” under the TCPA. We also review the Enforcement Bureau’s steps toward removing voice service provider BPO Innovate from the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD), along with compliance deadlines for new RMD filing obligations and deadlines associated with proposed robotexting rules. Finally, we provide an overview of the Do Not Disturb Act, a newly filed bill in the US House aimed at establishing additional consumer protections against robocalls.

This month’s Litigation Update covers several decisions that are helpful for defendants facing class actions brought under the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA). In Derriman v. Mizen & Main LLC, the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the plaintiff’s online consent to an arbitration agreement nullified his FTSA class action. In Holton v. eXp Realty, LLC, the same court remanded a case involving text messages in light of amendments to the FTSA. Additionally, a case in Miami-Dade County, Soto Leigue v. Everglades College Inc., yielded two positive orders for defendants facing similar cases. After rebuffing the plaintiff’s motion for class certification, the court denied statutory damages — due to the lack of actual damages and on a per-violation basis. We also review the Supreme Court’s denial of a petition for writ of certiorari that sought to revisit what qualifies as an automatic telephone dialing system under the TCPA.

If you have suggestions for topics you’d like us to feature in this newsletter, or any questions about the content in this issue, please feel free to reach out to an attorney on Mintz’s TCPA and Consumer Calling Practice team.

In This Edition

Regulatory Update

Litigation Update

 

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    Telephone and Texting Compliance News — December 2023

    December 27, 2023| Article|

    Authors

    Russell H. Fox

    Member

    Russell H. Fox is a wireless communications attorney at Mintz. He guides clients through federal legislative, regulatory, and transactional matters. Russell also participates in FCC proceedings, negotiates spectrum agreements, and represents clients in spectrum auctions.

    Jonathan P. Garvin

    Associate

    Jonathan Garvin is an attorney at Mintz who focuses on legal challenges facing companies in the communications and media industries. He advises clients on transactional, regulatory, and compliance issues before the FCC involving wireless, broadband, broadcast, and cable matters.

    Joshua Briones

    Member / Managing Member, Los Angeles Office

    Joshua Briones is a commercial litigator who defends consumer class actions for Mintz. He's represented clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, and retail, in cases involving false advertising, unfair trade practices, and other claims.

    Esteban Morales

    Member

    Esteban Morales is a Mintz litigator who handles class action defense and financial services litigation for companies of all sizes. He defends clients targeted in class action suits, and the results include dismissals at the pleading stage. Esteban practices in Mintz's Sports Law Practice.