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AI Dialer

Glossary · Compliance

What is TCPA?

  • Also called: telephone consumer protection act

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is the US federal law governing telemarketing calls, automated dialling, pre-recorded messages, and texts. It sets consent requirements, calling-hour limits, and do-not-call obligations, with statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how tcpa behaves in practice: A asserts both that the carrier knows the customer and that the customer may use the calling number, B asserts the customer only, and C asserts neither. A shared number pool can reach B at best, which is why number ownership keeps recurring in these definitions.
Attestation is the backdrop to most caller-ID and deliverability terms, tcpa included.

In practice

How tcpa actually works

Marketing calls or texts to a mobile using an automatic telephone dialling system or an artificial or pre-recorded voice require prior express written consent. Informational calls to an existing customer sit under a lower bar.

Calls are restricted to 8am–9pm in the *called party's* local time zone, which is why time-zone-aware calling windows are a platform feature rather than a policy document.

Damages are per call or text and there is no cap, so a modest campaign against an unconsented list produces catastrophic exposure. The burden of proving consent falls on the caller.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Get counsel on your specific consent basis before running a campaign.

Worked example

Damages are per call or message, so a 5,000-record campaign run without consent is not a compliance slip with a fixed cost — it is a five-thousand-multiple. That arithmetic is why list hygiene is a financial control.

TCPA: common questions

Who does the TCPA apply to?
The caller — the business whose message is being delivered — not the software vendor. Buying a compliant platform does not transfer the obligation, and 'the dialer did it' has never been a defence.
What are TCPA damages?
Statutory damages are set per violation, with a higher band for wilful or knowing violations, and there is a private right of action. Because damages are per call or message, exposure scales with campaign size, which is what makes list hygiene a financial control rather than an administrative one.
Does the TCPA apply to text messages?
Yes. Text messages are treated as calls for these purposes, so consent, opt-out handling and timing rules apply to messaging campaigns in the same way they apply to voice.

Sources

  1. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication — Federal Communications CommissionThe STIR/SHAKEN framework, the attestation levels carriers sign calls with, and the mandate requiring providers to authenticate caller ID.
  2. 47 U.S.C. § 227 — Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment — Cornell Legal Information InstituteThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act itself — the consent requirements, calling-hours limits, and private right of action.
  3. ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan — International Telecommunication UnionThe international number format, the 15-digit maximum, and how country codes and national numbers compose.

See tcpa in the product

An auto dialer is any system that places outbound calls without a person keying digits. There are four modes — power, preview, progressive and predictive — and they differ in how many calls run per rep and who hears the phone ring first. All four are in the base product here, switchable per campaign.

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