SCOTUS upholds robocall ban, strikes down exception for government debt
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the 1991 law which bans robocalls to mobile phones, while striking down a 2015 exception which Congress passed to allow such robocalls for the collection of government debt.
“Americans passionately disagree about many things. But they are largely united in their disdain for robocalls,” wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the ruling.
The 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act was enacted to shield consumers’ mobile numbers — at least in theory — from most robocalls. In 2015, the GOP-controlled Congress added a loophole to the TCPA as part of that year’s budget, which allowed robocalls to cellular phones to be placed in order to collect government-backed debt such as student loans and mortgages.
In response to that loophole, a group of political and nonprofit groups sued, arguing that the exception unconstitutionally favored debt collection over political and other speech, in violation of the First Amendment. They asked that the entire 1991 restriction on robocalls be invalidated, rather than just the 2015 exception for government debt.
Six members of the Supreme Court concluded that Congress had “impermissibly favored debt-collection speech over political and other speech, in violation of the First Amendment,” Kavanaugh wrote. However, seven members of SCOTUS concluded that under a principle known as severability, the 2015 exception could be invalidated while the rest of the TCPA would still stand.
“As a result, plaintiffs still may not make political robocalls to cell phones, but their speech is now treated equally with debt-collection speech,” Kavanaugh concluded.
Chairman Ajit Pai welcomed the ruling. The Federal Communications Commission has made combating unwanted and fraudulent robocalls one of its top priorities, with recent actions including a record proposed fine for an accused robocalling outfit and ordering gateway providers to cut off scam robocalls.
Pai blamed the Obama administration for the 2015 change, saying in a statement that the previous administration “snuck in a carve-out for federal debt collectors.” The change was opposed by Congressional Democrats at the time, who attempted unsuccessfully to repeal the provision.
Pai said that he opposed Congress’ action at the time because “the federal government should not bestow ‘regulatory largesse upon favored industries such as federal debt collectors,’ and I called on Congress to reverse course,” Pai said. “Thanks to the Supreme Court, that carve-out is no more. Today, the Court found that the last Administration’s attempt to create a special exemption for favored debt collectors was not only bad policy but unconstitutional. I am glad to hear that Americans, who are sick and tired of unwanted robocalls, will now get the relief from federal-debt-collector robocalls they have long deserved.”
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