New telemarketing rules on hold after appeals court ruling
Less stringent requirements for consumer contact will stay in place for a year, the FCC says, as it delays TCPA changes mandating one-to-one consent.
A U.S. appeals court has halted plans that would have gone into effect today and tightened rules on telemarketing calls and texts.
On Jan. 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided that the Federal Communications Commission "exceeded its statutory authority" with its new one-to-one consent requirement and set it aside.
FCC pushes rule changes to 2026: After the ruling, the FCC announced that it was delaying the rule change to next January. The exact timing depends on what happens with the court case, which was filed by the Insurance Marketing Coalition in December 2023.
The rule, which would have been part of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), would have amended the TCPA's policy of having "prior express consent" to include "prior express written consent," closing a lead generator loophole where a single consent signature could result in contacts from multiple callers.
Impact on the real estate industry: For real estate professionals, nothing changes — for now — when it comes to reaching out to potential clients, meaning brokerages won't need to implement new policies just yet, but they need to remain vigilant about following the existing rules.
The Court of Appeals ruling noted that a written agreement is still needed and must "include a clear and conspicuous disclosure" informing the signing party that they are consenting to telemarketing or advertising robocalls and robotexts.
Some firms have continued to get into hot water over TCPA violations. Keller Williams was hit a new telemarketing class-action lawsuit last year after reaching a $40 million settlement in a related case in 2023.