America’s two national associations representing the profession and industry of survey, opinion and marketing research have filed a “motion to intervene” in a court case against new telephone rules from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
In their motion, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and the Marketing Research Association (MRA) contend that “the definition of an autodialer” in the FCC’s new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules that restrict the use of autodialers to call cell phones “must be clarified to focus on the current capacity to generate and dial random or sequential numbers, and/or clarified to exclude calls that involve human intervention in the dialing.”
“If the court rules in our favor, we could walk away with a more constrained autodialer definition and an applicable human intervention test — both of which could be major points of relief for the research industry,” said Diane Bowers, CASRO president.
“We also seek relief from class action litigation over reassigned cell phone numbers. The FCC’s new rules create an unnecessary level of risk for researchers,” added David W. Almy, MRA CEO.
Because “cell phone numbers change subscribers frequently, and without notice,” the associations argued that callers who have express prior consent to call a cell phone number should not be held liable if that number has been reassigned to a new subscriber unless the caller gains actual knowledge of the reassignment.
Three organizations — ACA International, Sirius XM Radio, and the Professional Association of Customer Engagement —petitioned the court in opposition to the new TCPA rules. Those petitions were consolidated into a single case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. CASRO and MRA filed a motion to intervene under their petition to ensure the interests of researchers and research organizations are represented and addressed in the proceeding.
The 1991 TCPA requires express prior consent to call a cell phone using an autodialer. According to the most recent CDC data, more than 60 percent of American households are mostly or only reachable via cell phone, the calling of which is restricted for any purpose, including research, by the FCC’s implementation of the law.
The FCC’s new Declaratory Ruling and Order, issued on July 10, included a definition of an autodialer broadened to include most dialing equipment, and a one-call-before-liability standard for autodialer calls to cell phone numbers that have been reassigned to new users, whether or not the caller learns of that reassignment.
# # # # #
CASRO and MRA are the national associations for survey, opinion and marketing research — CASRO represents U.S. research businesses and MRA represents U.S. research professionals.
About the Author
Based in Washington, DC, Howard is the Insights Association's lobbyist for the marketing research and data analytics industry, focusing primarily on consumer privacy and data security, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), tort reform, and the funding and integrity of the decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS).
Howard has more than two decades of public policy experience. Before the Insights Association, he worked in Congress as senior legislative staffer for then-Representatives Christopher Cox (CA-48) and Cliff Stearns (FL-06). He also served more than four years with a science policy think tank, working to improve the understanding of scientific and social research and methodology among journalists and policymakers.
Howard is also co-director of The Census Project, a 900+ member coalition in support of a fair and accurate Census and ACS.
He has also served previously on the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics and and the Association of Government Relations Professionals.
Howard has an MA International Relations from the University of Essex in England and a BA Honors Political Studies from Trent University in Canada, and has obtained the Certified Association Executive (CAE), Professional Lobbying Certificate (PLC) and the Public Policy Certificate (PPC).
When not running advocacy for the Insights Association, Howard enjoys hockey, NFL football, sci-fi and horror movies, playing with his dog, and spending time with family and friends.