WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. consumers must consent to receive so-called robocalls before getting unwanted autodialed or prerecorded calls, the Federal Communications Commission said.
During its regular meeting Wednesday, the FCC adopted rules that ensure "consumers have given prior express consent before receiving robocalls, can easily opt out of further robocalls and will experience 'abandoned' telemarketing calls only in strictly limited instances."
The rule also eliminates the "established business relationship" exemption to the requirement that telemarketing robocalls to consumers occur only with prior expressed consent by the consumer, the FCC said in a release.
Telemarketers will be required to provide an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism so consumers can immediately tell the telemarketer to stop calling.
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Telemarketers also will be limited on the number of abandoned or "dead air" calls they can make within each calling campaign, the FCC said.
The order includes an implementation period for each of the new requirements.
Informational calls, such as ones concerning school closings and flight changes, would still be available to consumers who want to receive them, the commission said.
Despite ground rules, "too many telemarketers, aided by autodialers and prerecorded messages, have continued to call consumers who don't want to hear from them. Consumers by the thousands have complained to us, letting us know that they remain unhappy with having their privacy invaded and their time wasted by these unwanted calls," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. "Today, we responded to those consumers, providing consumers greater protection from unwanted robocalls."
Because the FCC's rules now largely mirror the Federal Trade Commission rules for telemarketers under its jurisdiction, "we have consistent rules applying to all telemarketers, and we avoid confusion for those telemarketers subject to both the commission's and the FTC's rules," he said.
