Internet Association Asks Court To Vacate Sweeping TCPA Rules
Internet companies shouldn't have to choose between engaging in necessary communication with their users and the threat of class-action litigation, Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman said of the FCC's recent Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) order. The Internet Association filed…
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an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, urging the court to overturn the FCC's TCPA order. The FCC declaratory ruling interpreted the TCPA in a way that expands its scope beyond any reasonable interpretation of Congress’ original intent, a news release from the association said. The ruling exposes any company using a modern phone system, including Internet companies simply attempting to communicate with their users, to a dramatically increased risk of frivolous litigation, it said. “In an unlawful attempt to respond to changing technology, however, the Commission has interpreted the TCPA in such a way that it now potentially reaches almost any form of electronic communication -- a far more sweeping (not to mention unconstitutional) and ambitious rule than Congress’s much more modest focus on the specialized automated dialing equipment that telemarketers used in 1990 … . [T]he Commission’s Order rolls out the welcome mat for lawsuits threatening the innovative approach to communication that the Internet Association members promote and on which their business models depend,” the brief said.