Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER ANNA GOMEZ
Re:	Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages, CG Docket No. 21-402; Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278; Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, CG Docket No. 17-59, Second Report and Order, Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Waiver Order (December 13, 2023)
	Choosing the right product or service in a thriving competitive market with a sea of options can be an overwhelming task.  That is why consumers turn to comparison shopping websites.  To make the process of choosing the right product or service – be it a loan, medical insurance, or real estate – easier, and less overwhelming.  But when what seemed like a solution to staying afloat in a sea of too many choices turns into a tsunami of unwanted robocalls and robotexts, it is our job to step in to help. 
	The Order we adopt today makes clear that businesses interested in robocalling and robotexting consumers will need to receive specific consent from a consumer in order to send those types of communications.  Importantly, this decision does not foreclose other marketing options.  
	In considering this item, I thought deeply about its effect on small businesses.  The sea of product and service options can also be challenging for small businesses to navigate from a marketing perspective, because they face larger competitors for consumer attention.  That is why small businesses turn to lead generators, to get leads on potential customers.  I pay close attention when our rules impact small businesses.  And, in this instance, they continue to have various options to work with lead generators.  First, as long as a consumer provides prior express written consent to receiving marketing through robocalls or robotexts, a small business can still use leads obtained through lead generators to make robocalls and robotexts.  And small businesses will continue to be able to contact customer leads via non-autodialed calls and non-autodialed texts—provided the customers are not on the Do Not Call List, email, and even mail.  
While this Order alters the way some lead generator websites have operated, we believe that reducing the harm to consumers resulting from a tsunami of robotexts and robocalls to which they did not consent outweighs the discomfort of the change we adopt in this Order.
I want to thank the Office of the Chairwoman for accepting our edits to this item incorporating concerns from the small business community and highlighting the marketing options that remain available for small businesses. Also for directing the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to conduct outreach and provide education focusing on compliance to small business lead generators and small business lead buyers.  And thank you to the Bureau for your hard work on this important item.  I approve.   



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