On March 27, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) addressed an outstanding petition¹ seeking guidance for compliance with the “prior express consent” requirement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for informational text messages.² In a declaratory ruling, the FCC provided clarification of this requirement, and specifically addressed whether an intermediary may provide such consent. The FCC agreed with group texting service GroupMe, Inc. that, consistent with the TCPA, intermediaries may convey consent provided by others to receive informational text messages.³ However, the FCC made clear that companies ultimately remain liable where intermediaries fail to obtain the required consent. The ruling demonstrates a current trend at the FCC to allow businesses communicating with consumers by text message some flexibility while navigating the TCPA’s increasingly complex requirements.
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