In this time of crisis, the Supreme Court still soldiers on … somewhat. The Court cancelled its March oral argument sitting and will likely cancel the April one too. But petitions are still being filed–deadlines have been extended–and there are still cases to be decided.
One of those cases concerns the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a statute that is appreciated by many because it helps stop robocalls. The law makes businesses who violate the many consumer‐oriented provisions liable to private lawsuit. This is no idle threat, either; in the last ten years 21 TCPA cases have settled for over $10 million. It is also a favorite of states’ attorneys general, who earn popularity for targeting the sources of unwanted calls.
The 1991 law was all‐encompassing. Auto‐dialers and pre‐recorded calls were prohibited for political activists, local businesses, debt collectors, and charities alike. Unless a consumer has released their number willingly, they could not be called by such annoying methods. But in 2015, Congress passed a budget that contained an amendment exempting from the statute any calls made “solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.”
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/how-telephone-consumer-protection-act-unconstitutionally-privileges-government-speech
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