Topic: Notice of Inquiry

FCC Seeks Comment on Reassigned Numbers; Dozens of Commenters Answer the Call

On July 13, 2017, the FCC sought comment on how it should address the problem of autodialed or prerecorded calls to “reassigned numbers”—numbers that once were used by an individual from whom the caller obtained consent, but have since been recycled and given to a different individual. Reassigned numbers pose a risk of extensive TCPA liability even for those callers that try hard to do everything right, as there is no perfect system to accurately identify all reassigned numbers at the moment they are reassigned. It is little surprise, then, that dozens of commenters chose to weigh in on the FCC’s proposal to create a database for this purpose.

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FCC Releases Two Notices of Inquiry Addressing Reassigned Numbers and Caller ID Spoofing

The FCC released two notices of inquiry (NOIs) related to TCPA issues last week: one on how to better track reassigned numbers, and another on tightening industry wide techniques to discourage Caller ID spoofing, one category of illegal robocalls. Each NOI seeks public comment.

Reassigned Numbers NOI

On July 13, 2017, the FCC released an NOI addressing the issue of identifying reassigned phone numbers. Specifically, as the FCC notes, in many cases the recipient of a reassigned number may be subject to unwanted calls that the prior holder of the number consented to; and conversely, the previous holder of the reassigned number is no longer receiving those calls for which she gave consent. According to the NOI:

Approximately 35 million telephone numbers are disconnected and aged each year, and according to one source 100,000 numbers are reassigned by wireless carriers every day. Consumers change telephone numbers for a variety of reasons, including switching wireless providers without porting numbers and getting new wireline telephone numbers when they move. Once a consumer drops a number, he or she might not update all parties who have called in the past, including robocallers to which the consumer gave prior express consent. NOI, ¶ 5.

In light of the FCC ruling in July 2015 that clarified a range of potential liabilities for calling reassigned numbers, the issue has resulted in a substantial amount of litigation and liability risk for companies that have received consent to place calls to numbers that have subsequently been reassigned. Further, the FCC notes that, despite the TCPA and FCC rules, complaints about unwanted calls, historically have been one of the FCC’s largest sources of informal complaints.

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