In an Order originally released on December 30, 2020, the FCC implemented Section 8 of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act by issuing new rules on exemptions to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The TCPA Exemptions Order set forth new rules governing exemptions for the following types of calls to residential numbers: (1) non-commercial calls; (2) commercial calls that do not include an advertisement; (3) tax-exempt nonprofit calls; and (4) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-related calls.
Specifically, the new rules adopted limits on the number of permitted calls within these categories that use an artificial or prerecorded voice: three calls per thirty-day period for most types of calls and one call per day, up to three calls per seven-day period for certain HIPAA-related calls. The FCC also required callers making these types of exempt calls to allow consumers to opt out of any future calls that they do not wish to receive.
Shortly after the release of the TCPA Exemptions Order, two parties requested a reconsideration of the new requirements, and on December 27, 2022, the FCC released an Order on Reconsideration and Declaratory Ruling amending the new rules to allow callers the option of obtaining either oral or written consent to exceed the numerical limit on exempted calls and affirming the numerical limits and opt-out requirements on such calls. The Office of Management and Budget approved this non-substantive rule change on January 4, 2023.
On January 20, 2023, the FCC announced that compliance with the new rules described in the amended TCPA Exemptions Order is required as of July 20, 2023.
