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If you use robocalls or robotexts for marketing or lead generation in the past, be aware of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rule changes in early 2025. Under new "one-to-one consent" rules, a business will no longer be able to rely on consumer's bulk consent for multiple businesses to contact them. Rather, each business will need a consumer's prior express written consent for calls or texts from that specific business. 

The new rules requiring "one-to-one consent" will go into effect on January 27th, 2025 and changes to consent revocation rules will take effect on April 11th, 2025. It is recommended that you review consumer consent collection practices for any marketing and lead generation communications that use robocalls and robotexts, including contacts that use auto-dialed calls and texts and artificial or pre-recorded voices. 

For direct personal communications with consumers, the TCPA and Washington laws will continue to prohibit solicitation calls to numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry and Washington's telephone solicitation law, unless you have the consumer's prior express consent or an established business relationship with the consumer.

2025 TCPA rule change highlights: 

1.  One-to-one consent: Business may only contact consumers who have explicitly provided a separate, specific consent for that business to contact them. On Jan 24, 2025 - the FCC announced a postponement of this rule. Subsequently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Vacated the rule, determining that the the FCC had exceeded its statutory authority, effectively eliminating the one-to-one consent requirement.
2.  Clear disclosure: When obtaining consent, business must clearly disclose the nature of the communication and who the consumer is consenting to be contacted by. 
3.  Logical relevance: Communications must be "logically and topically related" to the initial interaction where consent was obtained. 
4.  Consent revocation: Effective April 11, 2025, consumers may revoke consent in "any reasonable manner" and businesses must process these requests within 10 business days. 
5.  Recordkeeping: Businesses must maintain records of all consents obtained, including the date, method, and content of the consent. 

Enforcement and penalties: Before filing a complaint, gather all necessary details about the unwanted call, text or fax: 

• Date and time of the communication.
• The phone number or name of the caller/sender.
• A record of the message such as voicemail or screenshot of the text. 
• Type of communication such as telemarketing, robocall or fax. 

What we can do: 

• Use scrubbed call lists and regularly update contact lists to remove numbers on the Do Not Call Registry. Click here to verify if a phone number is on the federal National Do Not Call Registry and click on Verify Your Registration. 
• Ensure auto-dialers are compliant with federal and state regulations, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces the TCPA. Consumers may file a complaint by filing it online or by phone at 1-888-225-5322.  Failure to adhere to the new consent requirements can result in significant financial penalties. Violators can be sued from $500 per violation or monetary losses, whichever is greater and if the violation is known, the penalty can increase to $1,500.