Ecommerce Alliance Meets FCC Staff on Quiet Hours Petition

The Ecommerce Innovation Alliance had meetings at the FCC concerning the group’s pursuit of a declaratory ruling that people who provide prior express written consent to receive text messages can't claim damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for messages received outside the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (see 2503030036). The group is being represented on the issue by former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and met with staff from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Wireless bureaus, said a filing Thursday in docket 02-278.

“Despite the widespread consensus in the docket that the law is clear, a single South Florida law firm continues to actively solicit consumers who have provided consent to nevertheless file litigation against law-abiding companies, misleading these consumers by telling them that every text message received after 9 PM is an ‘unlawful’ message that can create a ‘payday’ for them,” the alliance said. “Since November 2024, more than 230 such cases have been filed, with 98% of those cases being filed by this single law firm.”