The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every facet of society in unpredictable ways, and the laws and regulations governing calls and text messages are no exception. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a recent declaratory ruling clarifying when calls and text messages relating to COVID-19 are permissible under the TCPA’s “emergency purposes” exception, but most businesses will not be able to rely on that exception. In certain states, COVID-19 state-of-emergency declarations have triggered widespread restrictions on telemarketing. In non-COVID-19 news, debate continues over what constitutes an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) under the TCPA, and — in a surprising turn of events — the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the 9th Circuit in adopting a broad definition.Continue Reading Most COVID-19 Calls Are Not an “Emergency Purpose,” and Other Unexpected Developments