FCC's Ruling on Lead Generation and TCPA Empowers Small Businesses

The FCC has closed the "Lead Generator Loophole" by adopting a ruling that silences marketers unless they obtain consent from consumers for a specific good or service provider. Under the new rule, calls made using regulated technology can only be made by individual providers after obtaining consent from the consumer. The calls must also be topically and logically related to the transaction that gave rise to the consent. Commissioner Simington dissented, arguing that the ruling is arbitrary and capricious and disregards the concerns of small businesses.