Broadcasters, Cable Lobby FCC on TCPA

Cable and broadcast interests lobbied the FCC on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, from which they and others have been seeking exemptions so their routine communications won't run afoul of TCPA, said filings posted Tuesday in docket 02-278. The law shouldn't apply to informational, noncommercial, nonadvertising and nontelemarketing autodialed and prerecorded messages sent by educational institutions because those calls are made for “emergency purposes," said Hubbard Broadcasting of its meeting with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and others at the FCC in support of Blackboard's request along those lines. The FCC should ensure that any relief granted isn't limited only to certain schools, but also extends to all schools that utilize the services of any entity that performs the same critical messaging function as Blackboard, the broadcaster said. For example, the relief should extend to service providers like broadcasters that work directly with schools to send critical school-related public safety announcements, such as school closings, it said. NAB and NCTA, meanwhile, said their lawyers met with Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau staffers urging the commission to act on waiver petitions to address concerns members have about the TCPA. NCTA and NAB members face uncertainty about TCPA compliance issues and litigation arising under the current interpretation of the law "when a company had written prior express consent that, due to the confusion recognized in the 2015 Order, may not have met all of the requirements for a 'writing' as specified in the rules as amended by the 2012 TCPA Order," they said. NCTA is among those that have sought a waiver (see 1511040051) from the TCPA, which covers what are sometimes called junk calls to consumers who don't want the marketing messages.