NO SOLUTIONS: Disappointing Senate Hearing on TCPA and Robocalls Results In Little Meaningful Testimony and No Solutions

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It was like watching a bunch of fifth graders discussing the problem of robocalls.

Not much more I can say than that.

The lack of understanding of the issues was plain. The U.S. Senators asking questions plainly did not understand the subject matter–or the witnesses they were talking to. Little was accomplished.

Still, Puja and I sat through the sprawling nearly two hour hearing providing breaking coverage and filling in the gaps left behind in the underwhelming hearing. Hundreds of you tuned in–and we appreciate you watching!–and we will have the full recording on our INCREDIBLE YouTube channel as quickly as possible.

There are not enough disappointed memes in the world to capture this… 

For now here are the only take aways I have from the hearing:

  1. Senator Tester is a bad ass.
  2. Senator Vance seemed interested in going after the robocallers in their overseas enclaves which is an interesting solution.
  3. Senator Lujan seemed legitimately interested in solving the problem, even if he clearly did not understand the issues involved.
  4. All of the rest of the senators just seemed interested in reading some sob story into the record and asking some meaningless question (some of them asked the same question as others) to witnesses who were generally not qualified to respond.
  5. Margot Saunders SPECIFICALLY said she wants to end the “business model” of lead generators. Absolutely massive.
  6. Margot LIED to Congress about the content of the FCC’s consent rules. No one was there to call her out on it.
  7. Multiple witnesses complained about “consent farms” and misbehavior by the lead generation industry. None discussed its benefits. None discussed the work of R.E.A.C.H.
  8. The only “solutions” offered were Margot’s suggestion that carriers be shut down for repeatedly carrying bad traffic. Terrible idea for multiple reasons–not the least of which is that there is no law permitting that. (Margot literally said there is no law that applies to carriers, and she doesn’t support one, but she just wants the FCC to shut them down without one. WTH??)
  9. There was a surprising focus on generative AI from the Senator’s questions. Looks like their staffers are intrigued by the technology and are feeling around for information. Seemed like AI was feared–as something that can generate fake calls that sound like familiar vices–but also looked to as a solution–something that might some how stop unwanted calls.

We will have more coverage of the hearing and its outcome as we let the testimony sink in. Thank you again to the Reassigned Numbers Database for sponsoring TCPAWorld.com’s live coverage today.

The RND is a fantastic solution that has stopped billions of unwanted calls and protected its users from tens of billions in potential TCPA exposure. For those of you who do not know about it reach out and I will connect you with folks over there. It is an absolutely ESSENTIAL tool in the fight against unwanted robocalls–and, of course, it wasn’t mentioned once in the hearing today.

*facepalm*

Chat soon TCPAWorld.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

1 Comment

  1. So, let me get this straight…

    A bunch of lawmakers displayed their lack of understanding about an issue and yet still indicated a desire to implement massive changes that would lead to severe unintended consequences. Yup, that seems about right. A typical day in DC.

    Thanks for your coverage and summary, TA Team. Keep doing a great job. Your updates during this interesting time are truly appreciated.

    Reply

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