Koster asks FCC to block proposed changes by banking groups

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and five other state attorneys general are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strike down two banking groups’ proposed changes to rules on automated cellphone calls.

Current federal law prohibits telemarketers from sending out recorded solicitations, aka robocalls or robotexts, to consumers’ cellphones unless given prior written consent. According to a news release from Koster’s office, the American Bankers Association and the Consumer Bankers Association are seeking two exemptions to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The groups are asking the FCC to allow automated calls and messages to alert customers of fraudulent activity on their accounts. The second exemption, according to Koster, would limit liability for telemarketers, as it would require proof that the company intended to call or text a consumer who had not given prior consent. The current law requires consumers to opt in to robocalls or messages for fraud alerts.

“Telemarketing laws place the burden on telemarketers to operate lawfully,” Koster said in the release. “Allowing certain industries to violate the law and later claim it was unintentional to escape liability is not acceptable to Missouri.

“Raising the threshold to prove intent makes it even harder for states to protect their consumers from unwanted telemarketing.”

The attorneys general presented their requests in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler dated Feb. 18.[[In-content Ad]]