FCC Fines Company $2.9 Million for Political Robocalls to Cell Phones
Posted on May 19, 2014 11:55am PDT
The Federal Communications Commission announced plans to fine Dialing Services,
LLC, nearly $3 million for making illegal "robocalls" to cell
phones. The FCC has specific rules for automatic telephone dialing systems,
also known as "autodialers," that have the capacity to produce,
store, and dial telephone numbers using a random or sequential number
generator. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") prohibits
the transmission of robocalls to mobile phones except for (1) calls made
for emergency purposes, or (2) calls made with the "prior express
consent" of the call recipient. (In 2012, the FCC promulgated a rule
to require "prior express written consent" for such calls that
contain a "telemarketing" or "advertisement" component.)
The FCC alleged that Dialing Services transmitted automated or prerecorded
voice messages on behalf of political campaigns and candidates without
the prior express consent of the call recipients. Neither the TCPA nor
the FCC's rules contains a general exception from the autodialer prohibition
for political calls.
This is not the first time that Dialing Services has heard from federal
regulators. In March of last year, the FCC issued a citation to Dialing
Services for making millions of calls to cell phones during the 2012 election
cycle without authorization. The citation required Dialing Services to
certify within fifteen days that it had ceased making robocalls without
permission. It also came with a clear warning from the FCC Enforcement
Bureau that, "These citations set the stage for significant monetary
penalties if violations continue," including fines up to $16,000
per call. Finding that Dialing Services failed to comply with the requirements
of the citation and continued its practices by making 184 additional calls,
the FCC last week announced plans to fine Dialing Services $2,944,000
– the maximum penalty for those 184 calls.
After CTIA, a lobbying group for the wireless industry, reported an increase
in complaints about unwanted political messages sent to consumer cell
phones during the 2012 campaign season, the FCC issued an enforcement
advisory directed towards political campaigns intended to "promote
more widespread understanding of the restrictions imposed by [the TCPA]
and corresponding Commission rules governing political telephone calls."
Emphasizing that "the TCPA and corresponding rules provide important
consumer protections that [the FCC] intend[s] to continue to strictly
enforce," the FCC has indicated through its recent action against
Dialing Services that it is willing to take aggressive steps through the
upcoming 2014 elections as well.