Ringless voicemails require consumer consent, FCC clarifies

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Ringless voicemails overview: 

• Who: The FCC has ruled that callers must obtain a consumer’s consent before delivering a “ringless voicemail.” 
• Why: The FCC says it has had many complaints from consumers about ringless voicemails, and that the practice is covered under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
• Where: The decision applies nationwide in the United States.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ruled that callers must obtain a consumer’s consent before delivering a “ringless voicemail,” a message left in a consumer’s mailbox without ringing their cell phone. 

The decision was made in a declaratory ruling and published Nov. 21 by the FCC. 

The ruling goes into effect now, upon the release of the decision, the commission said.

“The unanimous decision by the full Commission finds that ringless voicemails are, in fact, ‘calls’ that require consumers’ prior express consent,” the FCC said in a statement.  

Ringless voicemails are covered in the TCPA, FCC rules

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits making any non-emergency call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a phone without the prior express consent of the called party, the FCC said.

The Commission clarified that ringless voicemail is a form of robocall and is illegal if the caller did not have the consumer’s prior express consent. 

It added that violations can be enforced by the FCC or the consumer can sue in court.

The news comes after the chair of the FCC asserted in February that callers should not be able to leave “ringless” voicemails on people’s phones without their consent, while proposing that “ringless” voicemails be further regulated.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement this week that ringless voicemails were annoying, and happening to too many consumers. 

“Today we’re taking action to ensure these deceptive practices don’t find a way around our robocall rules and into consumers’ inboxes,” she said.

The declaratory ruling denies a petition filed by All About the Message LLC, which asked the Commission to find that delivery of a message directly to a consumer’s cell phone voicemail is not a call protected by the TCPA. 

After the company’s request, the FCC sought public comment and received overwhelming negative reaction from commenters, it said. 

All About the Message then tried to withdraw its request for clarification, but was denied.

The FCC receives dozens of consumer complaints annually related to ringless voicemail, it said.

Have you been left a ringless voicemail? Let us know your thoughts on this FCC decision in the comments! 

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