Posted on January 29, 2010 by Lisa Baird

FCC Proposes Tougher Rules on Telemarketing

This post was written by Robert H. Jackson.

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has proposed changes to its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) rules that would conform to the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”). The primary change in the regulations would affect the sending of prerecorded messages (a/k/a “robocalls”) by barring them even to existing customers without first obtaining prior written consent. At first blush, this seems routine, but because of differences in the FCC’s and FTC’s statutory jurisdiction, there are complicated implementation issues that could trap unsuspecting companies. Other key issues for the health care industry is whether the FCC should create an exemption for prerecorded messages that are subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and, if so, how such exemption should be implemented. For more information about these changes, please read our client alert written by Robert Jackson.

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Posted on December 2, 2009 by Brad Rostolsky

FTC (Revised) Endorsement Guides Go Into Effect

As noted by our colleagues at Legal Bytes, on December 1, 2009, the revised "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" released by the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") came into effect. Washington, D.C. partner John P. Feldman, an authority in advertising regulations and compliance, recently outlined some considerations every advertiser should take into account in his memo, "FTC Endorsement Guides (Revised) - Some Thoughts As They Become Effective." To read John's full analysis, click here.

Legal Bytes has been following new developments regarding the FTC's Guidelines since November 2008. In case you missed any earlier updates, you can refer back to them here: FTC Testimonial and Endorsement Guides Stimulate Industry Comment (March 2009); a presentation given at the University of Limerick on the subject entitled "Trust Me, I'm a Satisfied Customer: Testimonials & Endorsements in the United States," which you can download (If You Didn't Make It to Ireland ...); Ghostwriters: Medical Research or Paid Endorsers (and are they mutually exclusive?) and Rights of Publicity - Wake Up and Smell the Coffee! (both in August 2009); and FTC Releases Updated Endorsement & Testimonial Guidelines and Reed Smith Analysis of the New FTC Endorsement and Testimonial Guidelines (both in October 2009).

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