FCC Asks DC Circuit to Deny TCPA Exemption Challenge

The FCC's decision to exempt prerecorded commercial non-telemarketing calls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act was "reasonable" and "in the public interest," the agency said, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to deny Vincent Lucas' petition in a brief posted Tuesday in case No. 21-1099. The FCC argued the Traced Act "adopted new limits on the number of exempted calls allowed" and Lucas was the only commenter in favor of a specific and narrowly tailored exemption. The FCC argued Lucas' request to exclude debt collection and broadcaster calls from the exemption was "time-barred." Lucas, a consumer who argued against the exemption in 2020, disagreed, in a reply brief posted Monday, and said the issues raised are "in terms of compliance with the TRACED Act" and therefore not time-barred. The FCC "acted arbitrarily and capriciously in failing to consider specific types of calls within the exemption and issues particular to specific types of calls," Lucas said.