Regulatory Update: Year In Review 2024 & What’s Ahead in 2025

Summary

Regulatory and Legal Telemarketing Updates: Federal, State, and Litigation Trends

The webinar began with a comprehensive review of the most significant regulatory developments in 2024 and what’s ahead in 2025. A central topic was the now-vacated “One-to-One Consent” rule, which would have required logically and topically related consent for robocalls and texts—this was stayed by the FCC and later vacated by the 11th Circuit Court. Despite the ruling, presenters advised organizations to retain improved consent practices, citing consumer trust and risk mitigation. Other major changes include the FCC’s upcoming Revocation of Consent Rule (effective April 11, 2025), which mandates that consumers must be able to revoke consent by “any reasonable means,” including simple messages like "stop" or even emojis. The presenters emphasized prompt processing of opt-out requests (ideally instantaneous), outlined risk scenarios (like creative professional plaintiffs), and highlighted how vague revocation handling can lead to costly litigation. They also covered proposed AI disclosure rules, with mandates that any AI-generated voices in calls must be clearly disclosed at the beginning of communications and within consent language.

Compliance Best Practices and Expanding State-Level Laws

State-level activity continues to rise, with states like Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, and South Carolina enacting or proposing “mini-TCPA” laws that expand definitions of autodialers, reduce calling hours, and limit contact attempts per 24-hour period. New caller ID spoofing laws, strict data retention rules from the FTC (extended from 2 to 5 years), and emerging concepts like "atomic" do-not-call lists (Mississippi) were also discussed. A key emphasis was placed on recordkeeping as a critical defense against litigation—retaining call logs, consent records, opt-outs, and policies is essential. The speakers noted an increase in litigation focused not just on autodialers, but also on failure to maintain internal DNC policies, improper calling times (e.g., texting outside of state-allowed hours), and vague or improper consent collection via large marketing partner lists. To mitigate risks, businesses were encouraged to subscribe to the Reassigned Numbers Database, manage state registrations, vet lead sources carefully, and ensure compliance even with new carrier-specific messaging rules. The webinar concluded with a Q&A session addressing nuances of consent, revocation, and state versus federal rules, with presenters urging attendees to prepare for a complex regulatory landscape in 2025.