Dive Brief:

• Starting Oct. 16 the FCC will begin implementing new regulations affecting marketing calls and texts sent to consumer cell phones.
• The new law will require mobile marketers to obtain written permission from a consumer prior to enrolling them as a mobile marketing participant.
• Retailers which do not comply with the new regulations would be subject to class action lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Dive Insight:

The new statute contrasts starkly with the previously accepted forms of consent required of retailers.

“Marketers face a plausible risk of  facing a TCPA lawsuit if they move ahead with campaigns relying on consumers’ oral consent, even if documented by the company’s employees,” writes David S. Almeida, attorney with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP of Chicago.  Under the new rules of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, consumer plaintiffs will be allowed to collect up to as much as $1,500 per unwanted call or text from mobile marketers who contact them without consent.