Q3 2024 Compliance Update with Michele Shuster- Webinar Recap

Michele Shuster, Managing Partner at Mac Murray & Shuster, joined us again for her quarterly break down of must-know compliance updates, in our webinar hosted by Convoso's Chief Marketing Officer, Lisa Leight.

Shuster and Leight covered topics currently impacting business decisions, including:

• FCC Jan 2025 one-to-one consent rule

• Regulations on electronic and voice recorded consent

• Handling revocation of consent

• The impact of ending the Chevron deference

• Growing state privacy laws

Want to avoid fines and operate in compliance? This recap is for you. To go beyond the highlights for more in-depth information, check out the video replay to watch the entire session.

The FCC is determined to close the lead generation loophole that once allowed companies to use general consent from consumers to make marketing calls or send texts on behalf of multiple sellers.

Starting January 27, 2025, the FCC will require one-to-one consent between the consumer and the seller, meaning every single call must have clear, direct consent from the individual being contacted.

This is a big shift, especially for those using third-party lead forms. After January 27, any lead forms that gather consent for more than one seller will no longer be valid. Therefore, businesses need to update their lead forms to ensure they meet the new standards.

Although this change doesn’t take effect for several months, there’s no time to waste in updating your lead capturing process. “It's going to take some time to test leads, to do some A-B testing and determine what's going to convert, and what's going to be enough to keep your business afloat,” Shuster says. “So, it's really something that needs to be started now.”

Next on the agenda is the E-Sign Act, which covers how you handle electronic consent. If your business relies on getting consent electronically, you need to make sure you’re following all the rules laid out by the E-Sign Act.

So, what does this mean for you?

Under the E-Sign Act, you can’t just provide mandatory written disclosures in electronic format unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to receive them that way. You also need to give specific E-Sign disclosures and get the consumer's consent to use electronic records.

Another critical change: If you're using voice recordings to capture consent, that won't fly anymore. The recent Bradley v. Dentalplans.com case made it clear that voice recordings don’t meet the E-Sign requirements.

"Because a voice recording is not a written document or a written disclosure to that consumer, then there is no way that you can comply with the E-Sign requirements strictly by a voice recording," Shuster notes.

This means you need to revisit how you’re getting electronic consent. Make sure your processes include proper electronic disclosures and written consent to stay compliant with the E-Sign Act.

Revocation of consent is a critical area of compliance. The FCC determined that consumers have the right to revoke their consent through any reasonable means, and companies must honor these opt-out requests immediately.

If a consumer says they want to opt out, you need to act fast. Ideally, you should process these requests within five minutes. Failing to do so can put you at risk of non-compliance.

Here are the other essential points on consent revocation:

• When consumers opt out, you have to assume that the revocation of consent applies to both calls and text, unless they specify otherwise.

• You’re allowed to send a follow-up message to confirm whether they want to opt out of both methods of communication, but this message has to be strictly for clarification and can’t include any marketing language.

• If the consumer doesn't respond, you have to treat their silence as a complete opt-out of all contact methods.

To stay compliant, review your opt-out procedures and make sure you can process revocations swiftly and accurately. This will help you avoid potential legal issues and keep your consumer relationships strong.

For decades, the Chevron deference allowed administrative agencies to interpret what their statutes mean to give businesses more guidance, and the courts [were] required to follow that.  “Meaning that,” Shuster said, “the FCC is responsible for enforcing the TCPA and the FTC, the telemarketing sales rule, the TSR.”

But, with the Loper Bright case, the Supreme Court determined that this takes away the independent judgment of the court, violating the Constitution. Courts no longer have to defer to these admin agencies’ informal interpretations of their rules.

While this introduces a lot of uncertainty, it doesn’t mean that the existing agency interpretations will be specifically overturned, only that they can now be challenged in court.

“There may be a great likelihood that an appeal could be successful, especially in the small business,” Shuster said. “The failure to evaluate how the rule affected small business, which they're required to, gives us a little bit more hope that maybe there's some success on those appeals.”

When it comes to the world of TCPA and the new consent requirements, Shuster said that these went through an official rulemaking process, which is different. “That’s not the type of process that Chevron was applying to.”

State data privacy laws are getting tougher, making it hard for businesses to keep up. Rhode Island's new law, effective January 2026, requires businesses to disclose all third parties who may receive personal information. This change is big for lead generation and marketing companies.

"You must disclose all of the privacy policies that identify all third parties to whom the personal information has been or may be sold," Michele pointed out. "This will pose a significant compliance challenge."

Texas is also ramping up enforcement. Attorney General Ken Paxton's team will enforce state privacy laws aggressively, giving companies 30 days to fix issues or face fines up to $7,500 per violation.

"If you're not on the privacy compliance bandwagon, it's time to do it and start really assessing what kind of data you have, who you're sharing it with, what your contract provisions are, and whether you're meeting the requirements of safeguarding that information," Michele said.

Businesses need to stay updated on state rules and adapt their practices. Following the strictest regulations can help ensure compliance across multiple states.

Keeping up with ever-changing federal and state regulations can be stressful for lead gen companies and sales call centers. Convoso offers a suite of tools designed to help you navigate these changes and support your compliance efforts:

• StateTracker: Creates checks and balances to keep you updated on state-specific compliance regulations.

• Dynamic Scripting: Automatically adjusts call scripts based on state regulations, supporting compliance by ensuring you say the right things in the right order, tailored to each state's requirements.

• List Management: Manages consent, scrubs against Do Not Call lists, and helps avoid human error by automating list management processes.

• Call Catalyst: Offers high-productivity manual dialing, perfect for companies opting for a more conservative approach to TCPA compliance.

These tools can be invaluable in supporting compliant and helping you focus on what you do best – growing your business.

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DISCLAIMER: The information on this page, and related links, is provided for general education purposes only and is not legal advice. Convoso does not guarantee the accuracy or appropriateness of this information to your situation. You are solely responsible for using Convoso’s services in a legally compliant way and should consult your legal counsel for compliance advice. Any quotes are solely the views of the quoted person and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Convoso.