Did you know that hundreds of thousands of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are related to robocalls? That’s more than all other complaints combined.
Although the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) technically requires a call recipient’s written consent before any communication is allowed, many telemarketers and businesses have found loopholes to bypass this requirement. That’s why, in 2023, the FCC issued a new regulation requiring “one-to-one” consent for each entity attempting to communicate with consumers.
Surprisingly, on January 24 – just three days before the new TCPA rule was set to take effect – it was struck down and vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. What does this mean for you? What’s next for the one-to-one consent rule? We explain everything you need to know in the article below.
Key changes with the new TCPA rule
Starting January 27, the new FCC regulations were expected to take effect. According to the new rule, businesses would have to get “one-to-one” consent from each lead for marketing outreach. This would have meant that any company would be required to obtain individual consent from consumers to text or call them instead of relying on broad consent. As a result, comparison shopping websites, which are often the source of lead generation, wouldn’t have been able to obtain consumer consent for several entities at once.
Moreover, any calls or texts sent would have to be logically and topically linked to the interaction in which consent was originally given. The proposed changes were met with both criticism and optimism.
On the one hand, transitioning to “one-to-one” consent would be challenging for some businesses. That’s because the new consent requirements would require them to rethink their data collection and storage practices. Companies would be required to maintain detailed checklists and documentation of consumer consent. On the other hand, the new TCPA rule would provide companies with the opportunity to be more transparent and build trustworthy relationships with their consumers. Although challenging in the short term, this change could ultimately lead to more effective marketing practices.
So what happened exactly?
Unexpectedly, on January 24, the FCC announced that the new TCPA rule requiring “one-to-one” consent would be postponed pending judicial review. Soon after, the Eleventh Circuit explained that the FCC had exceeded its statutory authority by imposing the new requirements. Therefore, the rule would be vacated and remanded back to the FCC.
What does it mean for the future? In the immediate term, the new requirements have been voided. However, the FCC could petition the Eleventh Circuit to take another look at the case or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari.
How Instant Roofer plans to approach this
Although the Eleventh Circuit has vacated the rule, Instant Roofer still plans to follow “one-to-one consent” best practices. We want to ensure our clients and contractors have the best possible experience. For this reason, unlike other companies, we don’t distribute customer data indiscriminately. Instead, we take the time to identify the best roofer for each job based on our client requirements.
Changed your mind about working with our contractors or decided you don’t want your data to be shared? No problem! When you ask us to delete your information, we’ll remove it from our system entirely. Likewise, we’ll inform our contractors that you’ve requested not to be contacted.
At Instant Roofer, we’re committed to being valuable partners to homeowners and our contractors. Our clients’ privacy is our priority. We know just how annoying spam and robocalls can be, which is why we promise a different approach. With Instant Roofer, you can get information on roofing materials before providing any personal data.
Recap: New TCPA rule vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Before January 27, many businesses were holding their breath, anticipating the updated TCPA regulations to take effect. To address the growing issue of unwanted communication, the FCC would require companies to obtain explicit ‘one-to-one’ consent. However, in a surprising turn of events, the Eleventh Circuit issued a ruling, finding the proposed TCPA rule invalid.
Nevertheless, at Instant Roofer, we still plan to uphold these privacy standards to protect our clients’ data, even without the regulatory mandate.
Interested to learn more? Read about your “do not sell my information” rights, or take a look at our privacy policy to learn more about how we keep your data safe.
Fact Checked by Lita Legzdina on 02/13/2025