[Federal Register: April 26, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 80)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 24634-24635]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap06-26]
[[Page 24634]]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket No. 02-278; DA 06-808]
Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act of 1991
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule; comments requested.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission seeks comment on ACA
International's (ACA) petition for an expedited clarification and
declaratory ruling concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
(TCPA) rules.
DATES: Comments are due on or before May 11, 2006, and reply comments
are due on or before May 22, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CG Docket No. 02-278,
by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission's Web Site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Parties who choose to file by paper should also
submit their comment on diskette. These diskettes should be submitted,
along with three paper copies to Kelli Farmer, Consumer & Governmental
Affairs Bureau, Policy Division, 445 12th Street, SW., Room 5-A866,
Washington, DC 20554. Such a submission should be on a 3.5 inch
diskette formatted in an IBM compatible formatted using Word 97 or
compatible software. The diskette should be accompanied by a cover
letter and should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The diskette
should be clearly labeled with the commenter's name, proceeding
(including the lead docket number in this case CG Docket No. 02-278),
type of pleading (comment or reply comment), date of submission, and
the name of the electronic file on the diskette. The label should also
include the following phrase: ``Disk Copy--Not an Original.'' Each
diskette should contain only one party's pleadings, preferably in a
single electronic file. In addition, commenters must send diskette
copies to the Commission's contractor at Portals II, 445 12th Street,
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554.
People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov or phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica McMahon, Consumer Policy
Division, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, (202) 418-0346
(voice), Erica.McMahon@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's
document, DA 06-808, released April 5, 2006. The full text of document
DA 06-808, ACA International's submission, and copies of any
subsequently filed documents in this matter will be available for
public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room
CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. Document DA 06-808, ACA International's
submission, and copies of subsequently filed documents in this matter
may also be purchased from the Commission's contractor at Portals II,
445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may
contact the Commission's contractor at their Web site http://www.bcpiweb.com
or call 1-800-378-3160. A copy of ACA International's
submission may also be found by searching ECFS at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs
(insert CG Docket No. 02-278 into the proceeding block). To
request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities
(Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail
to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at
202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). Document DA 06-808 can also
be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy.
Pursuant to Sec. Sec. 1.415 and 1.419 of the
Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file
comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on the
first page of this document. Comments may be filed using: (1) The
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the Federal
Government's eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See
Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121
(1998).
Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers
should follow the instructions provided on the Web site for submitting
comments.
For ECFS filers, if multiple docket or rulemaking numbers
appear in the caption of this proceeding, filers must transmit one
electronic copy of the comments for each docket or rulemaking number
referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, filers
should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address,
and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit
an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions,
filers should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and include the following
words in the body of the message, ``get form.'' A sample form and
directions will be sent in response.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one
docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding,
filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or
rulemaking number. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery,
by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S.
Postal Service mail (although the Commission continues to experience
delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission.
The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be
disposed of before entering the building.
Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority
mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.
Synopsis
On October 4, 2005, ACA filed a petition for expedited declaratory
ruling seeking clarification of the rules under the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act (TCPA). See Petition for Expedited Declaratory Ruling,
filed by ACA, October 4, 2005 (Petition). Specifically,
[[Page 24635]]
ACA asks the Commission to clarify that 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) of
the Commission's rules does not apply to creditors and collectors when
calling telephone numbers to recover payments for goods and services
received by consumers. Section 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) of the Commission's
rules prohibit the initiation of ``any telephone call (other than a
call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent
of the called party) using an automatic telephone dialing system or an
artificial or prerecorded voice, to any telephone number assigned to *
* * cellular telephone service * * *.'' See 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii)
of the Commission's rules. The Commission's rules on autodialed and
prerecorded message calls to cell phone numbers incorporated the
language of the TCPA virtually verbatim. See also 47 U.S.C.
227(b)(1)(iii) of the Communications Act. (``It shall be unlawful for
any person within the United States or any person outside the United
States if the recipient is within the United States--to make any call
(other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior
express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone
dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice--to any telephone
number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service,
specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier
service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the
call[]''.)
ACA maintains that autodialed telephone calls are the most
efficient way to contact customers. ACA indicates that creditors use
autodialers not for telemarketing purposes, but to recover payments for
obligations owed to creditors. According to ACA, the calls do not
involve advertising or soliciting the sale of products or services;
instead, they are placed to ``complete a transaction'' in which the
customer has received a product or service. ACA also suggests that many
customers today use wireless phones as their primary or preferred
method of contact, and that wireless telephone numbers are typically
provided by the customers--as part of a credit application, for
example--for purposes of receiving calls. In addition, ACA argues that
Congress did not intend the TCPA's autodialer restriction to cover
calls by or on behalf of creditors when attempting to recover payments.
According to ACA, in a 2003 Report and Order revising the TCPA rules,
the Commission concluded that a predictive dialer is within the meaning
and statutory definition of automatic telephone dialing equipment.
(Published at 68 FR 44144, July 25, 2003). ACA believes this conclusion
has created uncertainty for creditors that use predictive dialers to
call wireless phone numbers. Without clarification that creditors'
calls are not subject to the restrictions on autodialed calls to
wireless numbers, ACA maintains the credit and collections industry
will suffer severe economic harm based on the inability to use
autodialers to make such calls. Accordingly, the Commission seeks
comment on ACA's petition.
Federal Communications Commission.
Jay Keithley,
Deputy Bureau Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E6-6022 Filed 4-25-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P