WASHINGTON–A unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court in favor of a CU-backed position related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is welcome news to CUs, but it hardly closes the case and more needs to be done, according to one person.
As CUToday.info reported here, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor in a case involving the definition of an automated telephone dialing system (ATDS), or auto-dialers.
At issue in the case Facebook v. Duguid was whether Congress intended to regulate equipment that has the capacity to simply store and automatically dial numbers as an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) when it enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991. Credit unions have been actively pressing for clarification related to TCPA and contact with members.
While the ruling was a “positive and did provide some clarity,” Carrie Hunt, NAFCU’s general counsel and EVP, said a number of outstanding questions remain related to TCPA. Whether the uncertainty will lead to an “uptick in litigation,” added Hunt, “remains to be seen.”
Ultimately, suggested Hunt, “Congress needs to go back to the drawing board” when it comes to regulations and laws put in place before cellphones became ubiquitous.
Need for Alignment
Hunt said NAFCU, which like CUNA had filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case, continues to support a narrower definition of what constitutes an auto-dialer, saying the court decision did not go as far as NAFCU would have liked, as numerous “details,” such as whether all cellphones couldn’t be identified as auto-dialers, must be addressed.
But those aren’t questions NAFCU believes should be decided in the states; instead, Congress and regulatory agencies need to bring laws and regulation into alignment with 21st century technology realities, said Hunt. It’s difficult for courts to remain contemporary with developing technology, Hunt added, pointing to e-signatures and mobile branches as examples.
“Technology and the statutes must align,” said Hunt.’’