Caveat Vendor

One More Time: FCC Seeks Public Comment on Request to Exempt “On Demand Texts” From New TCPA Regs

January 24, 2014

Matt Gibson

While readers may have thought that requests for clarification of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) had become passé, they have not.  Earlier this week, the FCC released a new Public Notice in which the agency seeks comment on the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) request for clarification whether an “on-demand text service” is subject to the FCC’s prior written consent rule that went into effect last October.  RILA defines an on-demand text as an isolated, immediate, one-time text message that responds to a consumer-initiated request for a text offer (such as a coupon or other discount code) and notes that on-demand texts do not include marketing material that is unrelated to the information requested by the consumer.

RILA has asked the FCC to issue a Declaratory Ruling to affirm RILA’s view that the TCPA and the FCC’s prior notice rules do not apply to on-demand texts because such texts provide information specifically requested by consumers and do not contain unrelated marketing material.

Comments on RILA’s petition are due to the FCC by February 21, 2014, and reply comments are due by March 10, 2014.
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