If you feel like you’re struggling to keep up with all the contact center compliance news these days, you’re not alone.
“From my many years of experience,” says compliance expert and attorney Michele Shuster, “things are moving at a much, much faster pace than they ever have.”
To keep tabs on everything that’s going on and help you stay up-to-date on compliance support, Convoso started this quarterly webinar series: Ahead of the Curve with Michele Shuster.
In the Q2 edition of our contact center compliance catch-up, Shuster sat down with Convoso CMO Lisa Leight to run through need-to-know updates and look ahead to the rest of the year.
Read up on the highlights in the recap below, or tune into the video replay to see the entire session.
Ahead of the Curve with Michele Shuster: June 2023 Compliance Update
New FCC Proposal Would Shorten DNC Opt-Out Requirement to Just 24 Hours
Among the regulatory bodies that have been most busy lately is the FCC. After introducing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in February that threatened to undermine a crucial method of capturing consent used by much of the lead gen industry, the FCC is back with another drastic potential change.
This time, it’s opt-out requirements that may change. The current requirement—that opt-outs must be honored within 30 days—could be massively shortened. Under the NPRM released last month, opt-outs would need to be honored within only 24 hours, meaning sales teams and other businesses would have to process and honor DNC requests and revocations of consent nearly instantly.
As Shuster discussed during the webinar, the FCC is currently seeking public comment on this and other more minor changes—and organizations of all stripes are encouraged to submit comments on how changes would affect their business.
A Pre-Recorded Call ‘Sweep’ on the Way from the FTC?
Another major federal regulator, the FTC, might be considering significant action of its own, says Shuster.
Based on recent comments from FTC Associate Director, Lois C. Greisman, and an amendment to its guidelines for complying with the Telephone Sales Rule, the FTC has made clear that consent for pre-recorded calls is made according to the rule of “one consumer to one seller.”
Discussing these changes, Shuster surmised that they may indicate a sweeping enforcement action is soon on the way:
When changes like that happen, the next thing that happens is the FTC will look at the various companies that they’ve issued civil investigative demands to…or at companies that have had a large amount of complaints from consumers, and they look to make a ‘press hit’ so that they can make sure everybody understands that they were serious when they said they were changing something.”
As a result of this impending action, Shuster says there’s no time like the present to make sure that you are obtaining valid consent for all prerecorded calls.
More Changes Made to CMS Guidelines for Medicare Marketers
“God love anybody who’s on the phones doing healthcare marketing because the rules are changing fast and furious,” said Shuster. Since making rules related to third-party marketing organizations (TPMOs) a top priority the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made multiple changes to its Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines.
After its latest updates, organizations are now required to get pre-approval from insurance carriers on any marketing pieces that are being used for Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage. Prior to launching campaigns, those assets now also have to be filed with CMS.
Additionally, CMS is more strictly requiring organizations to substantiate claims made within marketing materials. Statements such as “lowest premiums” or “largest network” must now be backed up with current data from the current or previous open enrollment year.
Action at the State Level Continues
As if that all isn’t enough to keep up with, individual states continue to turn out new legislation at a dizzying pace. Shuster and Leight touched on an array of state compliance updates including these:
- Oklahoma, Washington, Maryland, and others attempt to stop autodialing: Providing an overview of states’ still-ongoing responses to the Supreme Court’s 2021 Facebook v. Duguid ruling, Shuster discussed how new laws, such as those in Washington and Oklahoma, are largely focused on attempting to outlaw automatic or predictive dialing.
- New York adds a new disclosure requirement: A newly passed Empire State bill requires callers to notify recipients of their right to make an internal Do Not Call request immediately after identifying themselves.
- State AGs step up Know Your Customer (KYC) efforts: “If they believe you are originating illegal robocalls, they are now issuing press releases stating they may be an unreliable provider…and no carrier will be able to carry the traffic from that voice service provider,” said Shuster. As a result, she says to expect to see a doubling down on proactive compliance efforts from voice providers.
The hour-long webinar session was packed with plenty more updates from the world of contact center and marketing compliance. Catch everything in the recording linked above.
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DISCLAIMER: The information on this page, and related links, is provided for general education purposes only and is not legal advice. Convoso does not guarantee the accuracy or appropriateness of this information to your situation. You are solely responsible for using Convoso’s services in a legally compliant way and should consult your legal counsel for compliance advice. Any quotes are solely the views of the quoted person and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Convoso.
