SAN FRANCISCO—The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's (TCPA) government-backed debt collection exception violates the First Amendment.
Under the exception, calls intended to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the U.S. are exempt from the TCPA. This comes after the Fourth Circuit issued the same ruling in a different case earlier this year.
The court did not rule the entire statute unconstitutional, but found that the debt collection provision could be reviewed separately, reported NAFCU, which noted it has repeatedly asked for clarity from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on TCPA exemptions, and it remains unclear whether the government-backed debt exemption includes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court was asked to review a decision from the Ninth Circuit, which expanded the definition of an autodialer. However, the parties reached a settlement and withdrew the request.
This ruling marks the second Circuit court to rule that the exception violates the First Amendment, a similar ruling was made by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in April.