FTC Postpones Enforcing Call Abandonment Provisions of TSR

The Federal Trade Commission will not begin taking action against telemarketers running afoul of call abandonment provisions in the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) starting Jan. 2. The FTC had previously announced its intention to crack down on violators with the turn of the New Year.

The FTC did not indicate when, specifically, it would begin enforcing the call abandonment provisions, but will hold off doing so until its current round of rulemaking is complete.

The Commission reiterated that this postponement only applied to telemarketers that comply with its safe harbor requirements.

But the FTC denied an industry petition that would have allowed telemarketers to deliver prerecorded messages to consumers with whom they had an established business relationship.

The Commission also made explicit within the TSR a previously implicit understanding that permits such calls if the seller has obtained a consumer’s express written consent prior to receiving them.

The Commission vote on these actions was 5-0.

The Direct Marketing Association and other organizations had petitioned the FTC to hold off its enforcement actions until the lawmaking was complete.

“This is good news for the many marketers, especially small businesses, that rely on prerecorded messages for communication with customers,” said Jerry Cerasale, DMA’s senior vice president for government affairs, in a statement.

Cerasale continued, “As we work to preserve the ability of marketers to contact customers with whom they have an existing business relationship, [the] FTC announcement means that customers can continue to conduct ongoing campaigns without fear of punishment until the issue is resolved.”