Court Clears Field For Battle Over ‘Robocalls’
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
A federal appeals court has revived a battle over whether an Indiana law regulating the use of so-called “robocalls” runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule on the merits of the claim that the statute violates the First Amendment rights of organizations and individuals disseminating recorded political messages over the telephone.
The court, however, cleared the way for U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence of the Southern District of Indiana to rule on the question.
The court did that by overturning Lawrence’s holding that the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) pre-empts Indiana’s Automated Dialing Machine Statute.
Lawrence made the holding in a lawsuit filed by a not-for-profit Illinois corporation called Patriotic Veterans Inc.
Patriotic Veterans uses an automatic dialing-announcing device to call private residences and play recorded messages. The messages concern the stands that candidates and elected and appointed officials have taken on issues of interest to military veterans.
The TCPA bars making robocalls to private residences unless the recipient has given prior approval. It includes exceptions for emergencies and for calls that are not made for commercial purposes.
Indiana’s statute also bars making robocalls unless the recipient previously authorized receipt of the message or gives a live operator who places a call permission to play a recorded message.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
A federal appeals court has revived a battle over whether an Indiana law regulating the use of so-called “robocalls” runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule on the merits of the claim that the statute violates the First Amendment rights of organizations and individuals disseminating recorded political messages over the telephone.
The court, however, cleared the way for U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence of the Southern District of Indiana to rule on the question.
The court did that by overturning Lawrence’s holding that the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) pre-empts Indiana’s Automated Dialing Machine Statute.
Lawrence made the holding in a lawsuit filed by a not-for-profit Illinois corporation called Patriotic Veterans Inc.
Patriotic Veterans uses an automatic dialing-announcing device to call private residences and play recorded messages. The messages concern the stands that candidates and elected and appointed officials have taken on issues of interest to military veterans.
The TCPA bars making robocalls to private residences unless the recipient has given prior approval. It includes exceptions for emergencies and for calls that are not made for commercial purposes.
Indiana’s statute also bars making robocalls unless the recipient previously authorized receipt of the message or gives a live operator who places a call permission to play a recorded message.
Read more in our daily News Update...