Consumer Groups Petition FCC to Rethink TCPA Ruling

TCPA doesn't apply to calls made by or on behalf of the federal government as part of official business, except for calls made by contractors that don’t comply with the government’s instructions The groups said the FCC’s ruling is a “dangerous interpretation of the law.” Some 50 other national, state and local civil legal aid, civil rights and public interest groups signed the petition. “Robocalls have exploded in recent years and top the list of consumer complaints to the FCC,” said Maureen Mahoney, policy analyst for Consumers Union, which signed the petition. “The FCC shouldn't make the robocall epidemic even worse by exempting government contractors from the rules that protect consumers from unwanted calls.” The TCPA's text and structure make clear that “government contractors are subject to the law’s prohibitions, even when they are acting as agents of the government,” the petition asserts. “The Commission’s determination that federal contractors acting as agents of the government are not covered by the TCPA is incorrect,” the petition argues. “The Supreme Court case cited by the Commission as support for its ruling that contractors are not ‘person[s]’ covered by the TCPA, Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, actually assumed the opposite -- that federal contractors are covered by the TCPA, subject to claims of qualified immunity.”