“If you think compliance is expensive, try non-compliance.”
Paul McNulty knows a thing or two about compliance. He served as the 32nd Deputy Attorney General of the United States, a Department of Justice role responsible for incentivizing corporations to invest in robust compliance programs and report misconduct when it occurs.
Failure to comply with government regulations can result in more than fines and penalties. Businesses without a sound compliance strategy risk losing customer trust, tarnishing their brand image and reputation and possibly facing legal action.
Even though most Americans probably aren’t aware of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), it’s a regulation designed to protect consumers from unwanted and unsolicited marketing calls and messages. Enacted by Congress in 1991, the TCPA restricts the making of telemarketing calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS) and artificial or prerecorded voice messages, rules applicable to common carriers and other marketers.
The TCPA has undergone some changes since its inception. Businesses must now maintain an updated do not call list, provide an opt-out option for each call and procure prior express written consent from the individual being contacted. That consent rule applies to marketing calls and texts.
In February 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously adopted a Declaratory Ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices as “artificial” under the TCPA. Calls made using artificial intelligence (AI) must disclose the caller’s identity and purpose for contact. Business-to-business (B2B) calls and texts are subject to the same TCPA wireless restrictions as business-to-consumer (B2C) ones.
Approximately one year later, the FCC made public effective dates for more TCPA amendments, these scheduled to take effect on April 11, 2025. Key points of these amendments include:
Another new TCPA rule, this one focused on one-to-one consent, was scheduled to take effect on January 27, 2025. But, it was vacated by the Eleventh Circuit three days prior.
Some states adopt their own TCPA rules — often referred to as “mini-TCPA laws” — and implement broader versions requiring consent for telephonic sales calls, texts and voicemails. Healthcare marketing is subject to TCPA compliance. However, there are slightly different rules based on the FCC’s TCPA healthcare exemption.
Although the FCC provides clear direction on the rules to which businesses must adhere to maintain TCPA compliance, some companies fail and are hit with steep fines ranging from $500 to $1,500 per individual violation. The per-violation penalty can be as high as $500 and increase to as much as $1,500 per violation if the caller’s infringement was willful.
There was a 4.4 percent increase in TCPA lawsuit filings from 2023 to 2024. One of the biggest monetary repercussions applied to Citibank NA, which agreed to pay $29.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that Citigroup’s primary U.S. banking subsidiary made debt-collection robocalls in violation of the TCPA.
Utilizing conversational AI for marketing offers a host of advantages, including eliminating tedious and time-consuming manual tasks through automation, 24/7 availability, better resource utilization, increased productivity, streamlined operations and fewer errors. Problems occur when businesses subject to TCPA regulations commit common compliance mistakes when using AI for customer outreach, such as:
Contacting and engaging consumers is a crucial component of successful business marketing. The up-to-date data acquired through conversational AI tools bolster these processes by enabling businesses to predict trends better, identify potential churn risks, track performance and refine their strategies to meet evolving market demands.
Achieving and maintaining TCPA compliance doesn’t have to be difficult, even for small businesses. By following the appropriate guidelines, you can reap all the benefits of conversational AI while ensuring your business isn’t in danger of expensive repercussions resulting from unnecessary violations.
Leading conversational AI solutions are equipped with strict compliance controls. They track consent, include a clear opt-out mechanism, verify and maintain a real-time DNC list, automate the process of scrubbing call lists against the DNC and consistently deliver proper disclosures as mandated by state and federal law.
At Revmo, our commitment to TCPA compliance means you don’t have to worry about telephone and text communication costing your company large sums of money or a damaged reputation. We maintain detailed records of all consents obtained for our sales, marketing, support and business communications, including dates, times and methods of consent. Our conversational AI platform complies with state-specific telemarketing laws that may impose additional requirements or restrictions, and we keep accurate records of all calls and text messages used for our business communications (i.e., date, time, duration and nature of the communication).
Adding another level of security for our customers, our staff undergoes routine training on TCPA compliance. We ensure that all employees are well-informed about the importance of complying with these regulations.
For more detailed information on the TCPA and the importance of complying with its regulations, download our white paper, “TCPA Compliance in the Age of AI: A Guide for Customer Engagement in Regulated Industries.”
If you’re to turn every interaction into an opportunity for growth for your business, book a demo with us today!
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