House Panel Seeks to ‘Thread the Needle’ on TCPA Update
Members from each side of the political aisle at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on Friday voiced privacy concerns with a bill (HR-3035) to relax requirements on calls to cellphones now contained in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). But many agreed the 1991 law may need an update. The TCPA is the basis for many consumer complaints submitted to the FCC about unsolicited calls. HR-3035 is supported by the wireless industry, businesses and universities, but opposed by several consumer advocates and state attorneys general (CD Nov 4 p7). Sponsor Reps. Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Ed Towns, D-N.Y., said they're open to revising the bill.
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"I hate to be the Republican that spoils the garden party,” said Texas Rep. Joe Barton, disagreeing with others in his party who supported the bill. The co-chair of the House Privacy Caucus said he’s skeptical that Congress can tweak the law and still prevent consumers from receiving unwanted wireless calls. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the caucus’s Democratic co-chair and the author of the TCPA, warned of a “tsunami” of unwanted calls to consumers. Under the bill, a consumer seeking a one-time relationship with a pizzeria would be providing consent for the restaurant to repeatedly call the consumer’s cellphone in the future, Markey said.
Markey and other critics conceded the 20-year-old TCPA may be due for an update. Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said the TCPA doesn’t account for technological change. But the legislator’s constituents “don’t like this bill,” she said. “Consent is a very important term,” and redefining it could open consumers up to future robocalls, Eshoo said. The TCPA requires “prior express consent” for calls to cellphones.
Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., hopes to “thread the needle,” updating rules and preserving privacy, he said. It seems right to update the TCPA, since it was passed in 1991 for “legacy” technology, he said. Consumers pay less for wireless service and many households have cut the cord and gone wireless only, he said. The TCPA may now be “inadvertently preventing consumers” from getting information they want on their cellphones, he said. However, any legislation “should not subject consumers to unwanted telephone solicitations,” he said.
The goal is to find the “fine line” between wanted and unwanted calls, Terry said. He takes “offense” to claims by consumer groups and others who say his intention is to open consumers to unwanted telemarketing, he said. Terry asked consumer groups to work with him on revising the language, and said he’s willing to add stronger language on enforcement to protect consumers who receive robocalls. National Association of Consumer Advocates Legislative Director Delicia Hand cited enforcement as a major area of concern. She also said consumers should be allowed to opt out of calls.
Terry also asked states to work with him, saying he doesn’t want to preempt state laws. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said the bill must preserve states’ ability to make additional restrictions. Markey agreed that is a must in any bill to update the TCPA.