What is TCPA?
The TCPA is the US federal law that restricts autodialed, prerecorded and artificial-voice calls and texts, and underpins the Do Not Call rules.
Also called: Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Under the TCPA and the FCC's rules, autodialed, prerecorded or artificial-voice calls to cell phone numbers need the recipient's prior express consent, whether the recipient is a business or not, and the rules treat a text message as a call. Telemarketing calls are also limited to between 8am and 9pm in the recipient's local time.
The law gives recipients a private right of action: $500 per violating call or text, up to $1,500 if the violation was wilful, with no cap on the total. Consent, once given, can be revoked by any reasonable method, and the revocation must be honoured within 10 business days.
This matters for anyone texting or auto-dialling local businesses. A sole proprietor's listed number is often their personal cell, and a business listing does not tell you whether a number is a mobile or a landline. A phone number on a listing is not consent to text it.
See also the Do Not Call Registry. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice; the methodology page lists the known limits of phone data.