NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C.  20554
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
January 20, 2010        Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0511
e-mail: rosemary.kimball@fcc.gov
FCC PROPOSES TOUGHER RESTRICTIONS ON “ROBOCALLS”
New Rules Would Conform FCC and FTC Telemarketing Rules
Washington, DC -- The FCC has proposed revisions to its rules under the Telephone 
Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to further empower residential telephone subscribers to avoid 
unwanted telephone solicitations.  The proposals would require sellers and telemarketers to 
obtain written consent from recipients before making prerecorded telemarketing calls, commonly 
referred to as “robocalls,” even when the caller has an established business relationship with the 
consumer.  Additionally, the FCC proposes to make it easier to opt out of receiving robocalls.  
These new restrictions would harmonize the FCC’s rules with the Federal Trade 
Commission’s (FTC’s) recent amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule.  Because the 
majority of entities that use prerecorded telemarketing calls are subject to both agencies’ 
telemarketing regulations, most regulated entities must comply with the FTC’s current, more 
restrictive standards.  However, entities outside the FTC’s jurisdiction, such as telephone 
companies, airlines, banks, and insurance companies, are currently subject to less restrictive 
standards.  
Key revisions proposed by the FCC today include:
1. Requiring sellers and telemarketers to obtain telephone subscribers’ express 
written consent (including electronic methods of consent) to receive prerecorded 
telemarketing calls, even when there exists an established business relationship 
between  the caller and the consumer;
2. Requiring that prerecorded telemarketing calls include an automated, interactive 
mechanism by which a consumer may “opt out” of receiving future prerecorded 
messages from a seller or telemarketer; and,
3. Exempting certain federally regulated healthcare-related calls from the general 
prohibition on prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential telephone lines. 
(These calls are currently not specifically exempted from the prerecorded message 
rules.)
The Commission asked for comments on whether these proposed revisions would benefit 
consumers and industry by creating greater symmetry between the FCC and FTC regulations and 
by extending the FTC’s standards to regulated entities that are not currently subject to FTC rules.
The Commission noted that the proposed rule changes would not affect categories of 
prerecorded message calls that are not currently covered by its TCPA rules.  Those categories 
include calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations; calls for political purposes, 
such as those made by politicians or political campaigns; calls for other noncommercial 
purposes; and commercial calls that do not contain unsolicited advertisements, for example, calls 
that deliver purely “informational” messages notifying recipients of a flight cancellation.  
Furthermore, because the TCPA’s restrictions on prerecorded messages do not apply to calls 
initiated for emergency purposes, the proposed rule revisions would not affect messages sent to 
consumers to alert them to emergency situations.
Action by the Commission January 20, 2010, by Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 
10-18).  Chairman Genachowski, Commissioners Copps, McDowell, Clyburn, and Baker.  
Separate statements issued by Chairman Genachowski, Commissioners Copps, McDowell, 
Clyburn, and Baker.
- FCC -
CG Docket No. 02-278
CGB contacts: Erica McMahon at (202) 418-0346 and Lisa Boehley at (202) 418-7395.