Is Ringless Voicemail Legal in Florida?

Ringless voicemail is a new method that telemarketers use to push their advertisements for products and services on consumers all over Florida.

The practice has generated some controversy over its legality under the Telephone Consumers Protection Act (TCPA). Businesses that have been employing this tactic are currently defending themselves against lawsuits in which plaintiffs allege violation of the TCPA.

Whether the telemarketing defendants will ultimately win or lose these cases remains to be seen, but one thing is abundantly clear: ringless voicemail is stirring resentment among consumers who find it intrusive, and has drawn criticism from the Federal Communications Commission. While the issues is still up in the air at the federal level, a number of states like Florida are passing legislation to restrict the practice of ringless voicemail.

What follows are some frequently asked questions about “spam voicemail” and the law.

What is the TCPA?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 is an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934. The law restricts telemarketing activities by business, particularly in the use of automated equipment and “robocalling.”

Under the statute, automated telephone calls using artificial or prerecorded messages, text messaging and the use of fax machines for marketing and advertising purposes is highly restricted. Consumers who receive contacts that violate the TCPA can sue for statutory damages of between $500 and $1,500 per incident.

Part of the current controversy involves the question of whether or not use ringless voicemail technology constitutes a violation of the TCPA, since no autodialer is used.

What is Ringless Voicemail?

Ringless voicemail, also known as “dropped voicemail,” is a fairly novel technology that delivers messages directly to a phone subscriber’s voicemail without ever causing the phone to ring. It is a form of direct server-to-server communication.

Using ringless voicemail technology, the company routes the message over a landline. It is eventually delivered to a business-class number that has been assigned to the voicemail provider’s own server, and eventually to the consumer’s individual inbox.

A ringless voicemail message is thus able to bypass the network altogether: although the consumer receives an alert that a voicemail has been received, it never registers as an actual “call.”

This last point is at the heart of the current lawsuit, and the defendant’s primary argument that this kind of voicemail does not violate the TCPA.

Is Ringless Voicemail Illegal?

Literally, the jury is still out on this question. As noted above, the TCPA specifically restricts the use of autodialers, and what does or doesn’t constitute an autodialer is frequently a major point of contention in TCPA litigation. Defendants in dropped voicemail litigation argue that ringless voicemail technology does not use an autodialer.

In 2018, the defendant in a recent lawsuit filed by a Michigan woman filed a motion to have the case dismissed on those grounds. The judge in the case disagreed, ruling in favor of the plaintiff, writing: “The [TCPA] itself casts a broad net – it regulates any call, and a ‘call’ includes communication, or an attempt to communicate, via telephone.”

This ruling does not determine liability, but it clears the way for the lawsuit to move forward.

What About Other Ringless Voicemail Lawsuits?

Although there is no specific law regarding the use of non-ringing voicemail, courts in other cases have consistently ruled in favor of plaintiffs in determining that unsolicited ringless voicemail messaging is prohibited under the TCPA. Petitions from debt collectors and telemarketers for exemptions have been disregarded by the FCC.

Meanwhile, states are taking action to outlaw the use of ringless voicemail. On July 1, 2018, the state of Florida instituted a new statute, expanding the definition of a “telephonic sales call” to include “technologies that deliver a voice message directly to a voicemail application.”

Join a Free Florida Spam “Ringless” Voicemail Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you live in Florida and received a ringless voicemail from a retailer you’ve never shopped with or never authorized to call you, legal help is available, but it is important that you DO NOT delete the message.

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