Republicans want to leave you more voicemail — without ever ringing your cellphone

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
> Date: May 24, 2017 at 4:00:40 AM PDT
> To: Infowarrior List <infowarrior () attrition org>
> Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: Republicans want to leave you more voicemail — without ever ringing your cellphone
>
> Republicans want to leave you more voicemail — without ever ringing your cellphone
>
> It’s part of a push by groups, including the U.S. Chamber, to relax the FCC’s robocalling rules.
>
> by Tony Romm@TonyRomm May 23, 2017, 5:16pm EDT
>
> https://www.recode.net/2017/5/23/15681158/political-campaign-robocall-ringless-voicemail-without-ringing-cellphone-republican
>
> For years, consumers have warred with telemarketers for ringing their landline phones at all hours of the day.
>
> Pretty soon, though, they might find their mobile voicemail under the same sort of assault — that is, if the U.S. 
> Republican Party and others have their way.
>
> The GOP’s leading campaign and fundraising arm, the Republican National Committee, has quietly thrown its support 
> behind a proposal at the Federal Communications Commission that would pave the way for marketers to auto-dial 
> consumers’ cellphones and leave them prerecorded voicemail messages — all without ever causing their devices to ring.
>
> Under current federal law, telemarketers and others, like political groups, aren’t allowed to launch robocall 
> campaigns targeting cellphones unless they first obtain a consumer’s written consent.
>
> But businesses stress that it’s a different story when it comes to “ringless voicemail” — because it technically 
> doesn’t qualify as a phone call in the first place. In their eyes, that means they shouldn’t need a customer or 
> voter’s permission if they want to auto-dial mobile voicemail inboxes in bulk pre-made messages about a political 
> candidate, product or cause. And they want the FCC to rule, once and for all, that they’re in the clear.
>
> Their argument, however, has drawn immense opposition from consumer advocates.
>
> “I think it’s unfortunate that there’s a push by any political party to reduce the protections in [the robocall 
> rules] for cellphones,” said Margot Freeman Saunders, who serves as senior counsel at the National Consumer Law 
> Center.
>
> In an interview, she stressed that robocalls are partly responsible for consumers’ decision to drop their landline 
> phones, and a relaxation of the rules as they apply to voicemail — backed by the RNC or anyone else — would leave 
> many “completely overwhelmed by messages” that they can’t block.
>
> For now, the matter rests in the hands of the FCC. Back in March, a marketing firm called All About the Message LLC 
> specifically asked the telecom agency to issue a ruling on the legality of its “ringless voicemail” technology. In 
> its petition, the company said it doesn’t cause “disruptions to a consumer’s life,” such as “dead air calls, calls 
> interrupting consumers at inconvenient times, or delivery charges.” And it stressed that its technology isn’t even a 
> “call” by conventional standards.
>
> As the FCC weighs those legal arguments, it has asked other companies and consumer groups to offer their views. Among 
> those to signal support: The RNC, the Republican Party’s powerful arm for recruiting political candidates and raising 
> big bucks to topple Democratic officeholders.
>
> In a comment filed with the FCC on Friday, the RNC said it felt the telecom agency should clear the way for 
> organizations — including, apparently, itself — to auto-dial directly to voicemail inboxes with prerecorded pitches. 
> Failing to permit the practice, the RNC warned, could threaten the First Amendment  rights of political groups.
>
> “Political organizations like the RNC use all manner of communications to discuss political and governmental issues 
> and to solicit donations — including direct-to-voicemail messages,” the RNC told the FCC. “The Commission should 
> tread carefully so as not to burden constitutionally protected political speech without a compelling interest.
>
> The RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment — including about how it has previously used such a 
> tool. An FCC spokesman also did not immediately respond to Recode.
>
> Meanwhile, Democrats do not yet appear to have weighed in with the FCC on “ringless voicemail,” but a ruling that its 
> use doesn’t violate the country’s anti-robocalling law would certainly open the door for the party — and others — to 
> tap the technology if they so desired.
>
> It’s not the first time this issue has come before the FCC. Another provider, called VoAPPs, sought the agency’s 
> blessings for “ringless voicemail” in 2014, but it never received a ruling. Since then, similar campaigns have drawn 
> legal threats — including All About the Message LLC, which is facing a lawsuit for its use of the technology. To that 
> end, it’s also asking the FCC to spare it from any potential legal liability. (A lawyer for the firm did not 
> immediately respond to a request for comment.)
>
> In doing so, its push for “ringless voicemail” has drawn new support from the business community’s most powerful 
> lobbying group in Washington, D.C. In its own comment to the FCC, also filed Friday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 
> lamented the rise of class-action lawsuits targeting companies under the anti-robocall law, called the Telephone 
> Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.
>
> To that end, it also urged the FCC to stand down. “The Commission cannot continue to sweep new technologies into this 
> technologically archaic statute,” the Chamber said.



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